


Blue Fire

by domokunrainbowkinz



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, Conspiracy, Durmstrang, Fluff and Angst, I tried ok, Light Angst, M/M, Magic-Users, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Triwizard Tournament, beauxbatons! sara, durmstrang! victor, please don't fight me about the house assignments, slytherin! yuuri
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-08-15
Packaged: 2018-11-22 13:34:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11381241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/domokunrainbowkinz/pseuds/domokunrainbowkinz
Summary: After a disastrous performance at the European Inter-School Quidditch Championships, Hogwarts Seeker Yuuri Katsuki didn't expect to get chosen as the school's champion for the Triwizard Tournament.But life, as always, likes to throw him curve-balls and surprise him when he least expects it.One of those surprises happens to be in the form of Durmstrang Seeker Victor Nikiforov.





	1. The Selection

**Author's Note:**

> has 2 wips, starts another one :)))))

“Let’s do it, Yuuri.”

“Do what?”

Phichit looked at him with a raised eyebrow, the spoon of food halfway to his mouth. “You know what.”

Yuuri sighed, then took a bite of his food. He had no doubt his friend was going to suggest putting their names in the Goblet of Fire, entering them as potential champions for Hogwarts in the Triwizard Tournament. It just _had_ to be this year the they would be hosting the inter-school tournament, with the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students staying with them.

“Are you sure, though?” he asked. “People have _died_ from this tournament.”

“Yeah I know, but that’s a risk I’m willing to take. Think about it Yuuri! People will remember you for generations,” Phichit said excitedly with a sparkle in his eye. Sometimes he questioned the Sorting Hat’s decision to put his friend in Hufflepuff instead of Gryffindor, with his daring courage and love for glory, but he guessed it must be his unwavering loyalty and kindness that tipped the balance.

“I guess…”

“Make way everyone!”

Phichit rolled is eyes at Yuuri before turning towards the voice. Jean-Jacques Leroy, the hot-headed Gryffindor Seeker, was making his way towards the Goblet in the middle of the Great Hall, with a large following behind him. Yuuri hid a smirk behind his hand as the Seeker stopped in front of the fiery cup, then dramatically put the slip of parchment into the flames with a flourish. A loud cheer erupted from the hall when he turned, then he put his hands up into a gesture that resembled two “J’s”

“ _It’s JJ style!_ ” he exclaimed, which led to even more cheering. Phichit and Yuuri clapped along with everyone else. It wasn’t that they didn’t like Jean-Jacques, or “JJ”, as he wanted everyone to call him. Yuuri had talked to him a couple times, but he could barely keep up a conversation with him because of his gargantuan ego. He wondered if anything else goes on in his head besides thinking about how great he was. In a way Yuuri envied his confidence; if he had even a tenth of that, he wouldn’t be such a self-deprecating mess the entire time.

“With the way he’s hyping himself up so much, it’d be hilarious if he didn’t get picked,” Yuuri commented quietly, and Phichit slapped him on the shoulder.

“Oh man, I’d _love_ to get that reaction on camera,” he laughed, flicking through his cell phone. Both Yuuri and Phichit came from magical families, but they lived in Muggle cities their entire lives. Phichit’s parents had sent him to Hogwarts instead of the Asian school, Mahoutokoro, since it was where his mother went and they liked the curriculum better. Yuuri’s parents moved to London when he was a child, right after Mari graduated from Mahoutokoro. He was disappointed he wasn’t able to ride the Storm Petrels for day school and instead had to wait four more years to even _begin_ learning magic, but in the end, it was worth it. Hogwarts had become his home over the past six years, and he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

“He’ll most likely get picked,” a voice said. Seung-gil sat down beside Phichit, placing a stack of books on the table with a loud _thud_.

“Well isn’t _someone_ late,” Phichit teased.

“I was studying,” Seung-gil retorted, spooning some food onto his plate.

“Ever the studious Ravenclaw,” Yuuri said with a laugh. Seung-gil huffed, then took a bite of his food.

They were talking about their classes, the amount of homework that the professors had assigned them, and about how Potions class was the bane of their existence when they suddenly heard arguing coming from the entrance to the Great Hall.

“Sara, you can’t put your name in the Goblet! It’s too dangerous!”

“Oh shut it, Michele, you know I can handle myself perfectly fine,” she said, flipping her dark hair behind her shoulder. The Beauxbatons Chaser sauntered over to the Goblet confidently, her blue robes swishing around her legs. Michele followed behind, along with two blond-haired men who Yuuri recognized as Chris and Emil. He had met the group of Beauxbatons students a couple times during the inter-school Quidditch tournaments over the years, and although Yuuri didn’t know any of them very well, they were on friendly terms at least.

“You should listen to her, Mickey,” Chris said with a smirk. Michele glared at him.

“Don’t you _dare_ say anything, Chris. And why do you hang out with her so much anyway? You don’t have any ill intentions towards my Sara, do you?”

“For the last time Mickey, _I have a boyfriend_ ,” Chris emphasized the last part. “You _really_ need to stop thinking every single man is out to get your sister.”

The four Beauxbatons students stopped in front of the Goblet, and they reached into their robes for the pieces of parchment with their names. Sara dropped hers in first, followed by Chris, a reluctant Michele, and a very enthusiastic Emil.

“I bet you’ll get picked, Mickey,” he said with a smile. “Just know I’ll be cheering for you!”

“Thanks Emil,” he muttered, then the four of them made their way out of the Hall, still chattering non-stop. Chris caught Yuuri’s eye as they made their way out, and he waved with a smile on his face.

“Hey Yuuri! Are you putting your name in?” he asked, the Beauxbatons group joining Yuuri and his friends at the table.

“Hi Chris. And Phichit and I are probably going to put our names in later,” he replied.

“Yuuri’s still on the fence about it,” Phichit told Chris. “You need to convince him.”

“What? Is the eternal glory and prize money not convincing enough?” Sara asked, grabbing an apple from one of the floating plates.

“I mean, it all sounds great but…I’m pretty sure I won’t get picked,” Yuuri admitted lamely, pushing his glasses up his nose.

“You never know if you don’t try,” Emil pointed. “No harm in trying, right?”

Yuuri shrugged. He supposed there wasn’t any harm in trying: he either became the champion, or he didn’t.

The problem was that he didn’t like either option.

“If you need any more convincing,” Chris started with a sly smile creeping across his face and a mischievous glint in his green eyes, “Victor’s putting his name in.”

“Of course he is,” mumbled Yuuri, feeling a blush creep across his face. It really wasn’t surprising: the Durmstrang seeker, only a year older than Yuuri, was already famous in the world of Quidditch at the age of seventeen, having made it onto the school team in his first year and onto the Russian one in his fourth. Words like “genius” and “prodigy” were always thrown around whenever he was mentioned.

He was also the reason Yuuri got into Quidditch.

It was his first time watching a match, as a first year. He and Phichit were crammed into the seats, the crowds of spectators wildly cheering for their respective teams. Yuuri had heard about Quidditch, even had a few scrimmages with his friends Yuuko and Takeshi when he was still living in Japan, but it wasn’t until he moved to London that he became fully exposed to the sport. There was something about it that made it wildly popular with the British, and it wasn’t until Yuuri watched his first match that he fully understood.

As soon as the balls were released, it was colourful chaos; flashes of robes and blurs and objects flying everywhere. And in the midst of it all was a head of silver hair, weaving in and out of the obstacles to catch the Snitch. He was quick and graceful, an unstoppable force and dangerously beautiful.

It was at that moment Yuuri decided he _had_ to play against him someday.

And so he trained, and trained, and trained, until he made it onto the Slytherin team in his third year, and the Hogwarts team in his fourth. It wasn’t until his fifth year though, when he finally got a chance to play against Victor, with the Hogwarts team having advanced all the way to the finals of the inter-school Quidditch tournament, where they were fighting for the European Inter-School Cup.

Yuuri completely blew it.

It was during that time he found out the family dog, Vicchan, had passed away. The loss, coupled with the overwhelming pressure to perform well during the match, had gotten to Yuuri. He was a complete mess during the competition, almost crashing into other players and nearly getting knocked off his broom a couple times. He didn’t even _see_ the Snitch floating in front of him until Victor snatched it right in front of his face with a confused expression.

He couldn’t even look at Victor after that.

Yuuri was better than this, he _knew_ , but a part of him wondered whether he reached his peak already. After that dismal performance, he was questioning whether he should even continue playing Quidditch.

But the need to prove himself, the need to play on the same field as Victor, kept gnawing at him.

“Oh, here he comes,” Sara said, snapping Yuuri out of his thoughts. He heard an angry voice yelling in Russian, followed by an airy laugh and more rapid Russian.

“The Goblet’s going to pick _me_ , you hear that, _me!_ ” the voice yelled angrily, switching to English.

“Are you even _tall_ enough to reach the cup, Yuri?” another voice teased. It was one that Yuuri recognized much too well.

Long silver hair that looked like spun starlight, blue eyes made of ice, and a presence that commanded the attention of everyone in the room as his red Durmstrang robes flowed behind him. Victor Nikiforov stood out like a bright light in a sea of people. The chattering in the Great Hall died down a significant degree when he entered, everyone seemingly affected by his presence.

Right on his heels was a short blond boy, whose fuming face looked vaguely familiar to Yuuri. Beside him was a dark-haired boy who Yuuri recognized as Durmstrang’s mysterious Keeper, Otabek Altin. A red-headed girl and another dark-haired boy followed behind.

“Don’t sorry Yura, I’ll help lift you up,” she giggled, patting the blond boy’s head.

“Shut up you old hag!” he spat out, shoving her away.

“I’m only three years older than you though!”

“Ah, youth,” the dark-haired boy sighed as they reached the cup. The blond boy’s face looked downright murderous when he put his name in the Goblet, having to raise himself onto his toes to reach. Yuuri hid a snort at the observation, which he prayed no-one heard.

“Who’s that angry blond kid?” he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Oh that? Yuri Plisetsky,” Sara answered. “Only in second year, but everyone’s saying he’ll be the new Durmstrang Seeker for sure when Victor graduates. Milla _loves_ teasing him during training.”

“Victor says every time Yuri gets angry, another chunk of Coach Yakov’s hair falls out,” Chris snickered.

“You should call Victor over to try and convince Yuuri,” Phichit suggested, and Yuuri elbowed him in the ribs.

“Phichit, _no_.”

“Good idea! Hey, Victor!” Chris yelled, and the entire Durmstrang group and a number of other students turned towards him.

“I’m leaving,” Yuuri announced, then hastily shoved his books into his bag and nearly tripped his way out the table. Although it’s already been months since the disastrous championships, the confused look on Victor’s face was still burned into his head: a face that screamed _What are you doing? Are you even a Seeker? Why are you even_ here _?_

As he was leaving, he caught Victor’s eye for a fraction of a second before quickly looking away, unable to keep eye contact without bringing up unpleasant memories.

 _Coward,_ he thought to himself as he left the Hall. He wasn’t aware of the Russian’s gaze that lingered on him as he left, nor the pair of intense green eyes that followed him out.

//

“I don’t like you.”

Yuuri’s head snapped up and was greeted with piercing green eyes, one of which was partially obscured by a mop of blond hair.

 “What are you doing here?” he asked dumbly, his voice cracking. Yuuri had been studying in a quiet corner of the castle, a ways away from the Great Hall. How did Yuri Plisetsky find him? And why was he glaring at Yuuri like he was a piece of trash?

“Listen here, _pig_ ,” Yuri snarled, leaning in closer and ignoring Yuuri’s question. “I’m going to be the Durmstrang Seeker next year when the old man graduates, and we can’t have two Yuri’s in the same position.”

Yuuri blinked. Of all the things he could be angry about, he was pissed off because they had the same _name_?

“From the way you completely fucked up last year, you should just hurry up and quit,” he continued, and a flash of heat flared up in Yuuri.

“When I go against you in the Triwizard Tournament, you _better_ be in your best shape,” Yuri threatened, then he leaned in even closer and screamed, “MORON!” before stalking away.

Yuuri stayed rooted to the spot, trying to process what had just happened. Then it occurred to him that Yuri was aware of who he was, and he had said “when”, not “if” he went against Yuuri in the Tournament. Somehow, not only was he aware of who Yuuri was, he _expected_ Yuuri to get chosen as the Hogwarts champion.

And Yuuri hadn’t even put his name in the Goblet.

It almost felt as if he let the kid down, in a way.

 _I should go talk to Phichit_ , he thought, then went to look for him.

//

“He sounds like a brat,” Phichit said, “but I also feel like he looks up to you, in a weird way.”

“Why would he look up to me?” Yuuri asked confusedly, earning him an exasperated expression from his friend. They sat on the squashy armchairs in the Hufflepuff common room, eternally bathed in sunlight and warmth. Yuuri always liked this common room, preferring the warm atmosphere as opposed to the chilliness of the Slytherin dungeon, but he always had to come here with Phichit, who knew which barrels to tap. He wasn’t a huge fan of getting doused in vinegar for tapping the wrong barrels or rhythm.

“Yuuri, you need to be more aware of just how amazing you are,” he scolded. “Do I need to call Kenjirou over here?”

“Minami-kun just says that stuff to make me feel better,” Yuuri replied. He and Minami-kun’s families had known each other for years, having moved to London at around the same time. For some odd reason, their youngest son had always idolized Yuuri and showered him with praises, saying he’s “cool!” and “awesome!” and a million other things that Yuuri definitely wasn’t.

Phichit sputtered, and was about to say something else, but decided to let it drop.

“Anyways, it sounds like he expects you to at least put your name in the Goblet.”

“Did you put your name in?”

“I was going to wait for you, but then you never came back, so we all already put our names in,” Phichit admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry, Yuuri.”

“Ah, no need to apologize! It’s fine,” he reassured. “I’ll probably put my name in later…”

Phichit gave him a scrutinizing gaze. They had known each other for long enough that whenever Yuuri says he’ll do something “later”, really he means “I’ll put it off until it’s so long overdue that I end up not doing it in the end.”

“You know, Victor also said he’s looking forward to competing against you.”

“ _What?_ ” Yuuri asked, although it came out more like a screech. Phichit gave him a knowing smile.

“I mentioned that you were on the fence about putting your name in the Goblet, and he got all surprised and said he’d been looking forward to competing against you. He thinks that you’ll definitely get picked if you put your name in.”

“He really said that? Why though?” Yuuri asked. He knew Phichit is telling the truth, his friend would never lie about something like this, but he couldn’t help but think that he must have interpreted Victor’s answer the wrong way. Why would someone like him want to compete against someone like Yuuri? Had he forgotten about the Championship? Did he mistake Yuuri for someone else, someone who was much better?

“Yuuri, again, you need to be more aware of how amazing you are,” Phichit repeated. “You need to be more confident in yourself.”

“I know…but…”

Phichit sighed.

“Look, it’s up to you whether or not to enter your name in,” he said gently, putting his hand on Yuuri’s shoulder. “But I just think that if you don’t, you’ll end up regretting it.”

“Do you think so?” Yuuri asked.

“I do,” Phichit replied with a smile on his face. “But that’s just what I think. In the end, it’s up to you.”

//

Later that evening, Yuuri made his way to the Great Hall, the piece of parchment heavy in his robes like a rock. He stepped towards the Goblet and took it out, looking at his own scrawly writing.

He took a deep breath, then dropped it in, watching the blue flames engulf it.

 _There_ , he thought, _I did it. That wasn’t so bad, was it? I probably won’t get picked, but it’s worth a shot._

Somewhere deep within his heart, he desperately hoped to get picked.

//

Yuuri was sweating as he jiggled his knee up and down, crammed into the bench as the other students around him chattered excitedly about who they think will be chosen.

“Yuuri, are you okay?” Phichit asked with a concerned look on his face.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay. Totally okay. Why do you ask?” he squeaked, his voice edging dangerously close to hysteria.

“Hey, it’s fine. We’re all nervous,” he said, gesturing to himself and Seung-gil. Yuuri noticed the normally-silent Ravenclaw was even more quiet than usual, making his hands into fists in an attempt to warm them up. He also noticed Phichit talking a lot more than usual, endlessly chattering on and on with other students about everything and nothing in particular.

Knowing he wasn’t alone in the feeling calmed him down, slightly.

“Yuuri-kun!” a familiar voice called out. He turned and saw Minami-kun squeezing himself into a seat beside Yuuri, practically bouncing with energy.

“Hey Minami-kun.”

“Did ya enter? Your name into the Goblet, I mean,” he asked, then squealed with excitement when Yuuri nodded. “Ahh, you’re so cool Yuuri-kun! I didn’t enter this time around, but the next time I’m definitely be entering for sure!”

“I’ll be cheering for you,” Yuuri said with a smile, and it only made Minami-kun even more excited. He wished he had at least a fraction of this kid’s energy and enthusiasm, seemingly getting starry-eyed and passionate about anything and everything.

“I’ll be cheering for you too! You’ll definitely get picked!” he said with absolute certainty.

“Thanks Minami-kun,” Yuuri said, feeling the nerves creeping up on him again. See, this was the problem: if he did get picked, he’d have to compete in three extremely dangerous tasks in front of thousands of people, and hopefully not be a complete fuck-up and let down the entire school. On the other hand, if he didn’t get picked, he’d be disappointing Minami-kun and all his other friends, and would basically confirm how unworthy and insignificant he really was.

Yuuri didn’t know which option he preferred, to be honest.

“Everyone! Everyone, please sit down!”

Headmaster Celestino Cialdani’s voice rang out loud and clear, reverberating around the Hall. The chattering died down instantly, and Yuuri’s nerves were back, stronger than before.

“Now, the moment you all have been waiting for,” he began, then waved his wand, dimming the candles that lit the Hall. “The champion selection!”

“Oh my God Yuuri, I’m so excited!” Phichit whispered beside him, holding onto his arm tightly. Yuuri could only nod stiffly, trying to swallow the bile that was starting to come up.

The blue flames of the Goblet glowed brighter in the dim atmosphere as the headmaster placed his hands on it. Once he removed them, the flames suddenly turned red, then a smoking piece of parchment flew out from it. Celestino caught it, then read out the name.

“The Durmstrang champion is Victor Nikiforov!” he announced, which was met with loud cheers from not just the Durmstrang students, but many of the Beauxbatons and Hogwarts students as well. Yuuri could see Victor’s beaming face as he made his way towards the headmaster, a bright star that rivalled the glow of the Goblet. He could barely make out Yuri’s sulking figure, his face seething with anger as Milla patted him on the head in a comforting gesture.

The flames were still a bright red as it spat out another name, which the headmaster caught again.

“The champion from Beauxbatons is Sara Crispino!”

“Yeah, Sara!” Phichit whooped as she made her way to the headmaster, head held high with a huge smile on her face. Although his face was obscured by the other students, Yuuri could almost imagine the grimace Michele had on his face.

“Poor Michele,” he mumbled, which earned a snort from Phichit.

The last name flew out of the Goblet, and Yuuri was on the verge of passing out from sheer panic. He could feel his friend’s arm tense on his shoulder, how everyone around him held their breaths as they waited for Celestino to read out the last name. From the corner of his eye he spotted Jean-Jacques halfway out of his seat, already getting ready to do his victory walk.

“And last, but _certainly_ not least,” he began, “the Hogwarts champion is Yuuri Katsuki!”

 _What?_ Yuuri thought. _Oh. It must be an auditory hallucination_.

“Yuuri? Yuuri Katsuki?”

“Yuuri, it’s you!” Phichit whispered hastily, shoving Yuuri’s shoulder. He realized that everyone’s eyes were on him, looking at him expectantly.

 _Ah_ , he thought hazily as he slowly made his way to the headmaster, _so it’s_ not _an auditory hallucination_. He shook Celestino’s hand robotically, then stood beside Sara, who looked at him with an excited smile.

“And here we have our three champions!” he boomed, and a loud cheer erupted from the tables. “But, at the end, only one will have the privilege of eternal glory and the title of Triwizard Champion!”

With a flourish of his wand, he revealed the glowing blue Triwizard Cup, letting the dark cloth that was hiding it fall to the ground. Yuuri stared at the object hungrily, the end goal of this tournament. It seemed getting chosen had shocked all emotion from him, and the only thing he could feel right now was how badly he wanted to win, spurred on by his strong competitive streak.

 _I want to win_ , he thought to himself. _I want to be Champion_.

“Congratulations to all three champions, and good luck to you all!” Celestino ended, and the three were ushered into the Staffroom located on the same floor. Yuuri barely registered how he got there, still recovering from shock and the image of the Cup burned into his head.

“Yuuri, I’m so happy you got picked!” Sara exclaimed, snapping Yuuri out of his haze. He saw a hand stuck out in front of him, and he took it, his hands many degrees cooler than hers.

“I look forward to competing against you,” she said with a wicked glint in her eye. He suddenly remembered how aggressive the Beauxbatons Chaser got on the Quidditch pitch, getting fouled for Cobbing one too many times.

“Same here,” he responded, trying not to sound too terrified.

“I look forward to competing against you too,” Victor said with a huge smile on his face, extending his hand towards Yuuri. He hesitated for a second before taking it, but instead of shaking it, Victor surprised Yuuri by kissing the back of his hand.

He was about to pass out.

“So _you’re_ the one Chris picked it up from!” Sara proclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger towards the Durmstrang champion.

“Actually, _he’s_ the one _I_ picked it up from,” he asserted, still holding onto Yuuri’s hand. His face was on fire.

“Really? Is that really the case? Do you know how much Mickey freaked out over that, he wouldn’t let me near Chris for _weeks_ because he did that to me!”

“Wow, really? I think Chris told me something like that happened, it didn’t sound too serious in the letter though.”

“Well I’m telling you right now – “

“Ah, it seems the three of you are getting acquainted quickly,” Celestino suddenly said, entering the Staffroom. The conversation stopped immediately, and Victor let go of Yuuri’s hand. He felt a twinge of disappointment from the loss of contact as the three of them greeted the headmaster respectfully.

“Now, it’s good to be friendly with your competitors,” he began, “but I must remind you: because you are chosen, you stand _alone_.”

He put heavy emphasis on the last part. Yuuri swallowed thickly.

“There will be no outside help, not from friends, not from teachers, and certainly not from your fellow competitors.”

“Of course not, Headmaster Cialdani,” Victor said with a winning smile. There was a dangerous edge to that expression, and somehow Yuuri got the feeling he’d be accepting any help that came his way, regardless of rules.

Well, it’s not like he’d need it. Victor Nikiforov is a genius, and it’d be a wonder if he needed any help at all.

Celestino nodded at the statement, then quickly explained the magical contract that they were all bound to, that forced them to see the competition to the very end. Even if there was no contract, Yuuri would rather snap his broom in half than give up part-way through a competition.

“Now I’m sure you’ve had enough of me rambling on,” Celestino chuckled, “so I’ll be sending you back to your dormitories now. Good luck to the three of you, although of course I’ll be cheering for our Yuuri here.”

He patted Yuuri’s shoulder as they laughed, although Yuuri’s came out more stilted than the rest. Of course he was thankful for the headmaster’s support, but the overwhelming pressure for him, the immense expectations that being selected as the Hogwarts champion entailed, were starting to sink in. The earlier, hungry feeling he had was gone, replaced by the growing dread and panic that was dangerously close to boiling point.

Yuuri could really use a good, long nap right now.

As the three champions left the Staffroom, they turned towards each other.

“Well…good luck to all of us,” Sara said quietly. It was evident that the pressure was starting to sink in for her as well.

“Yeah, good luck,” Yuuri breathed, holding onto his robes tightly to keep his hands from shaking. He was sure he looked like a nervous wreck, and Sara’s normally confident face looked clouded over with concern. By contrast, Victor still looked as calm as ever, showing no signs of agitation.

“Good luck,” Victor responded with a tight smile on his face. It was then that Yuuri noticed his eyes, normally cool and placid, were burning. Blue fire, the flames that burned the hottest.

A shiver went through Yuuri as they parted ways. Their lives had been changed forever when they submitted their names into the Goblet. He still remembered Celestino’s voice as he unveiled the Goblet, a dominating presence in the Great Hall.

 _Once chosen, there is no turning back,_ he had warned. _As of now, the Triwizard Tournament has officially begun!_

Let the Tournament begin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HENLO!!!!! so i basically got this idea while looking at the influx of HP X YOI fanart on the train, so i'm going to be focusing on this lil story instead of my other 2 because i have the most ideas and inspiration for this one right now. i'll try and update this every week, so next chapter should be up by next sunday pst :)  
> also note: "cobbing" is a foul in Quidditch, where a player uses excessive elbowing against opponents  
> and sorry if there are any inaccuracies; all my harry potter books are in a storage locker and i can't access them, so i'm using the hp wiki as my source of information lmao)  
> scream at me on [tumblr](http://domokunrainbowkinz.tumblr.com/)


	2. Calm Before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao so i'm like 4 days late, gomenasorry :P

“Wanna see the video I took of JJ?”

“Phichit…” Yuuri mumbled, his voice muffled by the arm his head was resting on. They were studying in a quiet corner of the library, the day after the champions had been selected. Yuuri didn’t sleep a wink that night, his head filled with too many thoughts and worries, and he was really regretting it as he struggled to stay awake.

“Hey, it was really funny! His poor face when he realized he didn’t get chosen…”

“He probably hates me now,” Yuuri groaned, lifting his head.

“I’m sure he doesn’t! And if he does, that’s _his_ problem, not yours,” Phichit asserted, waving his quill at Yuuri.

“I can’t believe I actually got chosen,” Yuuri muttered, dipping his quill into the inkpot. Although the Triwizard Tournament was happening, classes were still in session at Hogwarts. This meant that although Yuuri was the Hogwarts champion, he still needed to keep up the draconian work ethic that earned him top marks in his class. On top of all that, he still needed to keep up with his Quidditch practices, and his Charms professor, Minako Okukawa, had insisted he brush up on his duelling to prepare for whatever the Tournament may throw at him.

Yuuri was sure he’s going to die before the first task even happened.  

“How are you feeling though?” Phichit asked, his eyebrows knitted with concern. “You looked really out of it during class this morning.”

_I feel terrible. The Goblet made a mistake and I’m actually not the champion. I’m a fraud and everyone knows it._

“I’m fine,” Yuuri lied instead, not wanting to worry his friend. Celestino had made it very clear that once chosen, the champions stood alone. This was a challenge that Yuuri would have to face by himself.

“Yeah, and I’m the number-one ranked figure skater in Thailand,” Phichit snorted sarcastically. “I can tell whenever something’s bothering you, Yuuri.”

“I guess I’m just…a little overwhelmed,” he laughed nervously. ‘Overwhelmed’ didn’t even _begin_ to describe what he felt, but it was the best word he could come up with.

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Phichit hummed with understanding. “Wanna talk about it?”

Yuuri sighed, putting his quill down. Phichit was his best friend, someone who would listen and not judge anything that he says, who he would feel comfortable revealing his weaknesses to. They met on the Hogwarts Express when they were first years, both about to start their journey at Hogwarts. Yuuri had been sitting by himself in a compartment when the other boy had asked if he could sit with him, since all the other compartments were full.

After that, it was easy conversation about their families, what they were looking forward to learning about most at Hogwarts, and also how Phichit managed to somehow sneak his three miniature dragons with him. Yuuri was perplexed when he brought them out, but then Phichit explained that he came from a family of dragon tamers.

“I pretty much grew up around dragons,” he said as the dragons climbed over his hands, one of them settling on his shoulder. “My older sister, Mekhala, she became a dragonologist after graduating and she works at our _san_ ctuary in Thailand.”

“Are you gonna be one too?” Yuuri asked. Phichit nodded brightly.

“Yep, I’ve always wanted to become one! Everyone says dragons are impossible to tame, since they’re too dangerous, but I believe that you can once you _truly_ understand them.”

He looked fondly at one of his dragons that had curled up on his palm, breathing out small puffs of smoke as it slept.

“I want to be the first person to tame a dragon,” he sighed, a soft smile on his face. Yuuri returned the sentiment, hoping the best for his new friend.

They were both disappointed the Sorting Hat put them in different houses, but it didn’t stop their friendship from growing over the years. Most people would think it was strange for a Slytherin and a Hufflepuff to be best friends, but Yuuri and Phichit clicked together like puzzle pieces. Phichit would always pull Yuuri out of his shell, to get him to try different things that he otherwise wouldn’t, while Yuuri would make sure Phichit didn’t goof-off _too_ much during class.

He honestly didn’t know _how_ someone like Phichit would want to be friends with him, a person with the social skills of a piece of stale bread, but somehow he did. And Yuuri would forever be grateful for that.

Presently, Phichit listened to Yuuri with a comforting look on his face.

“Phichit…what if the Goblet messed up, somehow? I mean, why would it pick me?” Yuuri asked, voicing out one of his worries.

“Because you are amazing, wonderful, talented, and a menace on a broom,” Phichit replied, putting up his fingers as he listed off each item. “And I’m pretty sure it’s guaranteed the Goblet doesn’t mess up, like, you’d need a _really_ powerful Confundus charm to mess it up.”

“But what if I mess up? Who knows what the tasks would be? Oh God, what if I have to brew a Felix Felicis perfectly in four months or something? That’s not even possible!”

“ _Yuuri_.”

Phichit was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Yuuri stopped his rambling.

“They’re not going to make you do something impossible,” he continued. “Remember, this is a _school_ competition. If the professors can’t do it, they _certainly_ won’t make you do it.”

“I guess…” Yuuri mumbled.

“But I’m sure you’ll be fine! You’re one of the most capable people I know,” Phichit assured.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course! All the professors think so too, and most of the students I talked to after the selection believe in you.”

Yuuri swallowed. He felt sympathy for everyone; he’d managed to fool them into thinking he wasn’t a complete mess all the time.

“That’s nice to hear,” he said as cheerfully as he could while his mind screamed _YOU ARE A FRAUD_ over and over again.

“Just know that you’re not alone,” Phichit said gently, grasping Yuuri’s hand firmly. “I know Celestino made a huge deal about ‘oh you’re the Champion now you’re alone on your own blah blah blah’, but honestly? That’s kind of bullshit.”

“But asking for help counts as cheating,” Yuuri protested. He knew Phichit had a point, but Celestino had emphasized he would be alone. Not only that, he felt that asking for help would be admitting weakness, and he didn’t want to be seen as a burden by others.

“It’s only cheating if you get caught,” Phichit countered. “You know Sara? She’s going around and acting all friendly with the other students already.”

“And?” Yuuri asked. He knew Sara had always been friendly and outgoing with anyone she met, so no surprise there.

“She’s building _connections_ , Yuuri,” Phichit explained. “The more people you’re on good terms with, the bigger network you have for information. Come on, you should know this! How else do you think I get all the juicy gossip around school?”

“Oh…” Yuuri hummed when he understood what Phichit meant. Sara was already creating a support network so she could ask for help, and he didn’t even notice.

“And Victor? He already has a his huge fanbase,” Phichit continued, “and just today I saw him talking to all the professors after classes. They _really_ like him.”

“Oh,” Yuuri repeated, this time coming out weaker than before. He remembered the sharpness of Victor’s expression when Celestino was explaining the rules, knowing that he’ll be breaking a couple of them, especially the one about accepting help.

“You’ve got a huge support group too,” Phichit smirked, tapping his phone. “You’ve got me, and you know I’m a gold-mine for information.”

“Phichit…” Yuuri stopped, unsure how to continue. “I-I don’t want to burden you with something like this.”

“You’re not a burden, Yuuri,” he scolded lightly. “You work yourself too hard sometimes. There are lots of things you can do alone, but there are lots of other things that you can only do with help. Don’t ever think you’re making yourself a burden for doing that.”

“Alright,” Yuuri promised, and they smiled at each other. He felt much better than before, Phichit’s words giving him some much-needed reassurance. Even at his worst, he could always count on Phichit to be there for him.

“Thanks Phichit. You’re the best friend anyone could ask for,” he said.

“Damn right I am,” Phichit teased, his eyes filled with mirth. “Now, help me with this _stupid_ assignment.”

//

“Again, Yuuri!”

“Yes _sensei_!” he responded, raising his wand.

Minako- _sensei_ fired a Stunner at him, which he blocked with a Shield Charm. He countered with a Confundus charm, which she swiftly knocked away with a flourish of her wand, and she began firing spell after spell towards him. He blocked them all fairly quickly, his reflexes kicking in, but he could tell his footwork was a little sloppy from lack of practice.

“ _Expelliarmus!_ ” she yelled, and Yuuri was just a second too slow, unable to counter. His wand flew out of his hand, clattering onto the ground.

“Sorry, Minako- _sensei_ ,” he apologized as he went to retrieve it.

“You’re getting slow, Yuuri,” she scolded firmly. “Less apologizing, more duelling.”

“Alright,” he sighed, already feeling worn out. They faced each other once more, wands raised at the ready.

“Yuuri- _kun_!” a voice called out. He and Minako- _sensei_ turned towards the entrance to find Minami- _kun_ bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“Oh, hi Minami- _kun_ ,” Yuuri greeted, waving at the first-year student. “What are you doing here?”

“I was sent by Celestino to get you! The reporter from the Prophet is here and the interview’s at Classroom 1A.”

“Interview?” Yuuri asked, although it came out more like a squeak.

“Yeah, didn’t Celestino tell you? The Triwizard Tournament is a pretty big deal, so obviously the Daily Prophet’s gonna want a story about it,” Minami replied. Suddenly, he remembered Celestino mentioning it before, but Yuuri had still been in shock about being chosen, so he completely forgot about it.

“R-right…”

“He’ll be right there,” Minako- _sensei_ said. “Thanks, Minami- _kun_.”

“No problem!” he replied brightly, then skipped away with all the energy of an eleven-year old.

“Yuuri, are you okay?” Minako- _sensei_ asked, her eyebrows furrowed with concern over Yuuri’s uneasy expression.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he replied. He’d done many interviews before; there were always reporters present at all the Quidditch competitions he went to. But he always knew what they would ask, what questions to expect, so he already had answers prepared for them. This time, though, he had no idea what they would ask. He could already imagine himself stuttering through the interview and making a complete fool of himself, and this time he didn’t even have teammates to back him up.

“Alright…”

Minako- _sensei_ didn’t sound convinced at Yuuri’s assertion, but she decided not to comment on it. Instead, she placed a hand on his shoulder and they walked out of the duelling room towards Classroom 1A.

“They’ll probably ask you to tell them about yourself, and how you feel about the tournament. Just relax and answer as truthfully as you can,” she said as they walked, as if she somehow knew what Yuuri was worried about. Minako- _sensei_ was like his second mother: her and his mother had been good friends when they were in school together, and while Hiroko had gone on to specialize in Healing spells, Minako- _sensei_ became extremely proficient in Charms and went into duelling. After many wins, she finally retired and started teaching Charms at Hogwarts, much to Yuuri’s secret relief. She pretty much watched him grow up from her frequent visits to Hasetsu, and her familiar presence helped him settle much easier into Hogwarts as a first year.

Early on, she noticed Yuuri had a knack for Charms and duelling, able to get the wand movements and speak the incantation just right with the clearest intent. He was also quick on his feet, able to dodge spells being thrown his way at lightning speed and react quickly towards them. Although she was so sure Yuuri would decide to pursue duelling, it was ultimately Quidditch that captured his heart: he fell in love with the feeling of wind against his face as he flew, the heart-pounding adrenaline as he chased the Snitch, the freedom he felt as he raced through the air on his broom. Duelling felt too confined to his liking, and the feeling of everyone’s attention focused on him was suffocating at times.

Of course, a certain silver-haired Seeker was also a huge reason for choosing Quidditch over duelling, and Minako- _sensei_ had always teased him about it. Regardless of his decision though, she was nothing but supportive, going to every one of his matches if she could with a handmade banner, cheering like a madwoman in the stands.

Minako- _sensei_ kept talking all the way towards the classroom, giving Yuuri some ideas of what to answer to potential questions and quelling most of his fears. She put her hands on his shoulders firmly and looked him straight in the eye, a serious expression on her face.

“One last thing,” she said with a steely voice, “if they ask you anything uncomfortable, if they hurt you in _any_ way, I will personally go over to the Daily Prophet and cast a Entrail-Expelling Curse on the damn reporter, you hear me?”

“ _Minako-sensei_ ,” Yuuri protested. Most people would pass it off as a joke, but knowing Minako- _sensei_ for so many years has taught Yuuri that it’s something she would _absolutely_ do.

“They hurt you, I hurt them,” she asserted before turning Yuuri towards the door. “Good luck Yuuri! Say hi to that pretty Russian boy for me!”

“MINAKO- _SENSEI_!” he repeated, feeling his face heat up as she laughed. She apparated away with a flourish, leaving Yuuri by himself outside the classroom. Already he could hear voices; Victor and Sara must already be here, along with the reporter from the Prophet.

Yuuri took a deep breath, then pushed open the door and immediately breathed out a huge sigh of relief.

“Katsuki- _kun_ , there you are!” the reporter said cheerfully when Yuuri entered the classroom.

“Hi Morooka- _san_ ,” Yuuri greeted, “I didn’t expect you to be the one interviewing us.”

“Ah, it wasn’t supposed to be me! But when I heard all three champions are Quidditch players I got interested, and when I found out you got picked I had to do a lot of convincing for the higher-ups to let me interview you,” he laughed, and Yuuri blushed in response. Morooka- _san_ had followed the Hogwarts Quidditch team for years, always the one in charge of interviewing and writing articles about them. He bonded particularly well with Yuuri, since they’re both from Japan, and had always been cheering him on at games. Finding out that Morooka- _san_ was the one interviewing them put Yuuri at ease.

“What are you guys talking about?” Victor suddenly asked, tilting his head curiously. Sara had a confused look on her face, looking back and forth between Morooka- _san_ and Yuuri.

“Oh sorry, I was just surprised that Morooka- _san_ was the reporter,” Yuuri replied, switching back from Japanese to English. “He always interviews our Quidditch team, so we’ve met a lot of times before.”

“Oh…” Victor and Sara said at the same time with understanding.

“I already interviewed Mr. Nikiforov and Ms. Crisipino here, so I’ll just interview you and we can take the group photo afterwards,” Morooka- _san_ explained, then led Yuuri into a smaller room within the classroom. He brought out a piece of parchment and a charmed quill that wrote anything Morooka- _san_ told it to.

“So, Katsuki- _kun_ ,” he began, “we’ll start off easy: tell me about yourself.”

Yuuri sighed, then went through the response he scripted in his head. The other questions Morooka- _san_ asked were fairly easy to answer, and Minako- _sensei_ had managed to predict most of them so he had most of the answers prepared. They spoke in a mix of English and Japanese, like how Yuuri spoke at home with his family, giving him a sense of familiarity. The interview was going a lot better than he anticipated, to his immense relief.

“Alright, last question,” Morooka- _san_ started. “Do you think you’ll win the Tournament?”

Yuuri swallowed. He hadn’t expected this question, _why_ was Morooka- _san_ even asking this question?!

“Uh…” he began tentatively, trying to put together a coherent answer, “Well, I’m up against some pretty tough competition, but I’d very much like to win.”

“Katsuki- _kun_ , _everyone_ here wants to win,” Morooka- _san_ laughed, “I’m asking if you _think_ you have what it takes to win.”

Yuuri hesitated. He _knew_ he had a pretty slim chance winning, up against Victor, a Quidditch legend and genius, and Sara, the fiercest competitor he’s ever met. But he can’t just admit that in an interview; he’ll seem weak, and that was the absolute _last_ thing he wants people to perceive him as.

“Absolutely,” he responded firmly. “I’m certain I have the skill and talent to become the Triwizard Champion.”

He put so much conviction into the answer that he almost believed it himself.

“That’s what I like to hear, Katsuki- _kun_ ,” Morooka- _san_ said with an approving smile. “Call me biased, but I’ll definitely be cheering for you.”

“Thank you, Morooka- _san_ ,” Yuuri said, feeling grateful for the support, but at the same time feeling the familiar pressure of expectations on his shoulders. The exited the room to find Victor and Sara arm-wrestling on one of the tables, and the sound of the door opening distracted Victor momentarily, allowing Sara to slam his hand into the table.

“I win!” she exclaimed, raising her arms in victory.

“Hey, no fair! I was distracted,” he pouted, crossing his arms.

“Riiiight,” she teased, “and you would’ve won otherwise? Be real, Nikiforov.”

“Hey, let’s be civil here,” Morooka- _san_ said, just as Celestino entered the classroom.

“Mr. Ollivander is here,” he announced. “We’re ready for the wand-weighing ceremony.”

“Great! We’ll be on our way after the photo,” Morooka- _san_ said.

“Wand-weighing ceremony?” Yuuri asked as he positioned himself beside Sara, with Victor standing on his other side. It felt awkward, to be in the middle where the focus of the photo would be, but he plastered on a smile as Morooka- _san_ took the picture.

“Yeah, they need to make sure our wands are working properly,” Sara replied as they headed towards the ceremony. “I’m pretty sure Headmaster Cialdani told us this?”

“Ah, it’s okay if you forgot!” Celestino chuckled from beside him, and Yuuri felt himself shrink. He felt lost, seemingly floating his way through the tournament, and the first task didn’t even happen yet.

They met the wandmaker, Mr. Ollivander, in a slightly-larger classroom on the other side of the first floor. The headmistress of Durmstrang, a stern looking woman named Lilia Baranovskaya, and the Beauxbatons headmaster were also present, as well as Mikhail Sokolov, the Head of the Ministry of Magic’s Department of International Magical Cooperation.

“This tournament was only possible because of Mr. Sokolov’s hard work,” Celestino praised as he clapped a hand on the man’s shoulder. He was quite tall, with brown hair and pale blue eyes that reminded Yuuri of a cloudy winter sky.

“Ah, you’re too kind Headmaster Cialdani,” he laughed, deep and throaty. Yuuri felt small, having such an important figure in the same room as him.

Mr. Ollivander inspected each of their wands, casting simple spells and examining the object in close detail to make sure there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them.

“Ah, yes, this wand,” he remarked as he examined Yuuri’s wand, turning it over in his hands. “Cherry wood with a phoenix feather core, 11 inches, nice and supple.”

There was a glint in the wandmaker’s eye when he looked over at Yuuri, who stood to his side, awkwardly watching him test out his wand.

“I also recall you being very reluctant to try this one, since you believed it too powerful a wand for you to control.”

Yuuri laughed weakly at the memory: him, a small eleven-year old who blanched at the mention of owning a cherry wand, and almost walked out of the shop when he was informed its core was phoenix feather. Even as a child, Yuuri wasn’t ignorant, he knew cherry wands were highly revered in Japan, and phoenix feathers were the rarest cores in wands. Those two, combined together, made an extremely powerful wand. He didn’t believe someone like him could own such an item, but as soon as he wrapped his fingers around it, he felt the connection immediately.

It was a difficult wand to get used to for the first little bit, since wands with his core are notorious for acting out on their own, but they eventually reached a balance. Now, whenever he performed magic, his wand felt like an extension of his arm.

Mr. Ollivander performed a few simple spells, then deemed the wand to be fit for the Tournament. He handed it back to Yuuri and wished him luck for the tournament as he left.

“Make sure you read the article in a couple days!” Morooka- _san_ reminded the three champions as he stepped into the fireplace with a handful of Floo powder.

“We’ll be looking forward to it!” Victor said as Morooka- _san_ disappeared in a flash of green flames. Idly, Yuuri wondered what Victor’s and Sara’s response to the reporter’s last statement was. Unlike Yuuri, they were both confident in their abilities, were actually worthy of being picked by the Goblet instead of a fluke like him.

“He’s nice,” Sara commented as they left the classroom. “I like him.”

“I agree!” Victor exclaimed. “I hope he’s the one that’ll do most of the reporting during the Tournament. Don’t you think so, Yuuri?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” he replied, surprised that Victor was even acknowledging his presence.

“I bet Mr. Morooka’s gonna write nice things about Yuuri, since they know each other,” Sara said.

“I’m sure he’ll write nice things about all of us,” Yuuri countered, trying to direct the conversation away from himself.

“Right, but he’ll write _especially_ nice things about you,” Sara emphasized as they turned a corner. “I’m sure he’ll be supporting you through the tournament.”

“You’ve got quite a lot of supporters,” Victor pointed out.

“Not as much as you though,” Yuuri protested. He’s absolutely certain all of Durmstrang and a good number of students from the two other schools were supporting Victor. How could they not? He’s smart, charismatic, a Quidditch prodigy and extremely handsome.

He’s everything Yuuri wasn’t.

“I’m sure his legion of fans would do anything he says,” Sara teased. “Can you believe the first task is two weeks away?”

“Two weeks?” Yuuri squeaked. He knew the date of the first task was close to his birthday, and he was aware it was the middle of November already, but he never really noticed just how _close_ the first task already was.

“Time flies fast,” Victor murmured, nodding his head. “Well, I’m headed to the library. See you around!”

“See you soon! I _will_ crush you, Nikiforov,” Sara added the last bit with all the fiery passion she could muster. “I’m not gonna go easy on you either, Yuuri.”

“Me neither,” Yuuri said as bravely as he could. They separated, with Yuuri headed back towards the duelling room to continue his training with Minako- _sensei_.

Two weeks. He’ll just calmly prepare for whatever the first task was, and hope to any deity listening that he doesn’t make a complete fool of himself.

//

“OI! PIG!”

 Every single head in the courtyard turned towards the loud, angry voice. Yuuri and Phichit looked to find Yuri Plisetsky stalking over towards them, broom in hand.

“Oh, hi Yuri.”

“I read the article the Prophet wrote, and do you _seriously_ think you have a chance at winning the fucking Tournament?”

Yuuri’s heart leapt into his throat. He _really_ didn’t like where this was going. Phichit placed a protective hand on his shoulder.

“Of course I do,” Yuuri replied as firmly as he could, hyperaware of everyone’s eyes on them, judging his every movement.

“Yeah? Well prove it,” Yuri challenged. “Race me.”

“Huh?”

“Are you deaf? Do you not have fucking ears? RACE ME!”

The demand echoed around the courtyard, and Yuuri began to hear excited murmuring among the other students. For some reason, words weren’t working for him right now, so he just opened and closed his mouth pathetically as he scrambled for an answer.

“Hey, stop that,” Phichit ordered, stepping slightly in front of Yuuri.

“What? It’s just a race,” Yuri protested. “It’s not like I’m asking him for a life-or-death duel.”

“You do realize the first task is a week away, right? He could get hurt –”

“Well that’ll be _his_ fault for being a complete idiot –”

“Yuri!”

Victor ran into the courtyard, followed by Otabek close behind. He had a stern look on his face, almost bordering on anger.

“Ugh, what do you want?” Yuri asked, rolling his eyes.

“I _told_ you to drop it,” Victor said quietly, crossing his arms. His jaw was set, and yes, that _definitely_ was anger in his eyes, Yuuri noticed.

“And _I_ told you to fuck off, old man,” Yuri retaliated. “Mind your own business.”

“This _is_ my business! He’s my competitor! The first task is a week away and you’re going to pull this _now_?”

“See? Even Victor agrees. Drop it, kid,” Phichit threatened.

“Just one race, right?” Yuuri asked quietly. Phichit and Victor turned towards him with shocked faces, while Yuri’s lips curled into a smile and Otabek remained expressionless.

“One race,” Yuri clarified, “no rematches.”

“Yuuri…” Phichit hissed, tugging his arm.

“I’ll race you,” Yuuri said, then took out his wand, mumbling a summoning charm. The Yajirushi flew towards his hand.

“Otabek, say something,” Victor ordered, looking at the other boy, who hadn’t said a single word during the entire exchange. He stayed silent for a few moments before finally speaking.

“First one back here after flying around the entire castle wins.”

“ _Otabek_!”

“Sounds good,” Yuri agreed, mounting his broom. As Yuuri mounted his, he felt Phichit grab his shoulder.

“Yuuri Katsuki, what the _fuck_ do you think you’re doing?” he gritted through his teeth.

“Look, it’s just a race,” Yuuri replied. “I’ll be fine, you can lecture me all you want afterwards, but just…I have to do this, okay?”

He knew it was a stupid decision, one that he would probably regret in about an hour. But having Phichit and Victor defend him like that, while he was grateful, he couldn’t help but feel like he was being treated delicately. Like something that would break easily.

If there was anything he hated, anything that drove him away from people, it was when they treated him like he was a weakling.

He’ll apologize to Phichit later, and Victor if he got the chance.

Phichit let out a deep sigh.

“You are getting an absolute earful once this is over,” he mumbled, then patted Yuuri’s back with a smile on his face.

“Thanks Phichit.”

“Hey! Stop talking to him,” Yuri scowled, clearly getting impatient. Yuuri turned his attention back towards the other boy.

“So first one back wins, right?” Yuuri asked.

“Yep, and I’m _definitely_ going to leave you in the fucking dust,” Yuri replied. “As if I’m going to be beaten by a guy who couldn’t even catch a Snitch right in front of him.”

Yuuri didn’t say anything at the jab, recoiling slightly. He suddenly realized, looking at Yuri’s confident demeanor, that the boy was _completely_ certain Yuuri could never beat him.

 _Oh_ , he thought, as they kicked off the ground, getting into starting position, _he’s seriously underestimating me._

_This is gonna be fun._

“On your marks,” Otabek’s voice rang out, and Yuuri gripped his broom tighter, his eyes focused on the scene in front of him. Usually he’d fly with his contacts on instead of his glasses, but he should be fine regardless.

“Get set…”

“You’re dead, pig,” he heard Yuri mutter.

“GO!”

And they were off, two blurs of colour shooting towards the sky. Yuuri felt the familiar hum of adrenaline coursing through his body as the wind ripped through his robes and hair, the cold November air biting at his face. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Yuri’s blond hair flying behind him. They were neck in neck so far, but they were reaching a turn, and someone would take the lead here.

Yuuri maneuvered his broom around the corner, but he was a little slow; he could see Yuri was ahead of him, slowly gaining more distance. He leaned forward more, feeling himself speed up as he tried to close the gap.

He was lucky it wasn’t raining, or he wouldn’t be able to see anything through his water-stained glasses. The condensation of the cold air obscured his vision a little, but he didn’t dare slow down. Yuri didn’t know this, but Yuuri had flown around the castle so many times, he could do this with his eyes closed.

They were reaching the halfway point around the castle, and Yuuri recognized the bridge between two towers that was currently blocking their way. It required expert maneuvering to get in between the gaps, and even more skill to do so quickly.

Good thing Yuuri liked to practice his flying here during his free time.

“What the fuck is this thing doing here?!” he heard Yuri yell as he weaved effortlessly through the small spaces. He could tell Yuri was struggling, but he got through just as quickly as Yuuri expected. Unlike the other boy, Yuuri never underestimated his opponents. In fact, he often _overestimates_.

The obstacle was enough for Yuuri to take the lead though, and he remained in the lead as they drew closer to the courtyard. He could see Yuri catching up to him, and he willed himself to fly faster.

Faint cheering floated towards him as the courtyard came into his field of vision. He could barely make out Phichit waving towards him, with Otabek standing beside him. Victor’s silver hair stood out among the students, and even from this distance, Yuuri could see the vivid blue of his eyes.

He leaned forward as much as he could, barrelling himself towards the courtyard. The cheering grew louder and louder, the blue of Victor’s eyes getting closer and closer until he realized he was already back where he started.

He also realized just how fast he was going, because he leaned as far back as he could, lifting the front of his broom almost all the way to his face until he stopped a few meters away.

“Yuuri!” Phichit cried, running towards him. He tackled Yuuri, wrapping him in a huge bear hug.

“I knew it! I knew you’d win, you’re _amazing_ -”

“ _Phichit_ ,” Yuuri laughed, patting his friend’s back as they embraced. He was probably still going to get an earful later, but not until after Phichit finishes gushing about him.

A few seconds later, he saw Yuri stop beside him, face red and panting.

“Looks like I win,” Yuuri said calmly. Yuri turned towards him, his face seething with anger.

“I want a rematch!” he demanded.

“Hm?” Yuuri took off his glasses, wiping the water that had collected there. Without them, Yuri was reduced to a blob of colour, making him look much less intimidating.

“I thought you said no rematches?” Yuuri smirked. He was high off the victory, giving him the boost of confidence that allowed him to tease the other boy. As he put his glasses back on, he heard Yuri sputter angrily before clamping his mouth shut, his arms crossed over his chest.

“It was a good race though,” Yuuri continued, reaching his hand towards the boy. “I look forward to competing against you when you’re Durmstrang Seeker.”

Yuri’s eyes flickered between Yuuri’s face and his outstretched hand.

“Whatever,” he mumbled, turning away. “Let’s go, Otabek.”

They walked out of the courtyard, leaving Yuuri standing awkwardly with his hand out. He swallowed before turning to Phichit.

“Uh…your room?” Yuuri asked, his earlier confidence fading as quickly as it came. He was suddenly aware of the many pairs of eyes on him, the cheering fading into whispers that Yuuri couldn’t decipher. It was like standing on a duelling platform; the attention was smothering.

“Absolutely,” Phichit replied, and they made their way towards the Hufflepuff dormitories. As they left the courtyard, they passed by Victor, who was standing near the side.

Yuuri didn’t miss the way Victor looked at him with an unreadable expression, how his gaze burned into him as they made eye contact. It was like when they got selected: there was fire in his blue eyes.

Strangely, it felt like a different type of fire. It burned with the same intensity, the same heat, but there was something deeper about it.

Something intimate.

//

Later that night, as he walked back to they Slytherin dorms after having a very, _very_ long conversation with Phichit that consisted of lots of scolding and teasing, someone called his name. He already knew who it was before he turned around, finding Victor in front of him with his hair down, no longer in a ponytail.

“Oh, hi Victor,” he said. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to apologize for what happened today,” Victor replied, biting his bottom lip. “Yuri’s young, he does lots of stupid things, but he’s a good kid. Please don’t blame him.”

“Oh, I don’t blame him at all!” Yuuri exclaimed. “I…I’m actually sorry too.”

“For what?”

“For worrying you,” he replied. “I shouldn’t have accepted his request, and I heard from Phichit that you were worrying about Yuri getting hurt during the race, I’m really sorry about that –”

 “I was worried about you too,” Victor interrupted, cutting Yuuri off. He knew Victor was worried for both him and Yuri; Phichit told him earlier that Victor spent the entire race apologizing profusely to Phichit in case something happened to him. Yuuri didn’t think much about it, since it made sense: he was Victor’s competitor; if he were Victor, he’d hate to compete against someone who was injured, not at their full potential.

“You didn’t have to,” Yuuri mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. “And even if I got hurt, it wouldn’t be anything serious. I’d still be able to compete.”

“But you’d still be hurt.”

“So? Like I said, I’d be fine.”

“I don’t want to see you get hurt because of me,” Victor confessed, his mouth twisting into a humourless smile. “If you got hurt because I wasn’t able to talk Yuri out of challenging you, I…”

He trailed off, looking at Yuuri with the same expression he saw in the courtyard. They stood in silence, Yuuri unable to look away from the blue eyes that were starting to burn into him. Phichit’s words from earlier wandered into his mind:

 _Oh, but did you see the way he looked at you once you landed?_ Phichit had asked with a smirk _. I’d describe it as the face of someone who realized they’re in_ love _._

Yuuri shut down that thought immediately.

“It’s fine,” he said, his voice coming out slightly strained. He tore his eyes away from Victor, focusing on a point on the ground.

 _He’s only worried because you’re his competitor_ , he repeated to himself. _You’re just a competitor, nothing more, and that’s all you’ll ever be to him_.

“You really don’t have to worry about me.”

“I can’t help it,” Victor said quietly, and Yuuri made the mistake of looking up. Victor had a fond smile on his face, his eyes full of warmth, and Yuuri didn’t know what to make of that expression, what it _implied_.

“I-It’s getting late,” he hastily changed the topic. “I don’t want to be out past curfew.”

“Right,” Victor said, his smile fading. “I should be heading back too.”

They stood awkwardly for a few more moments, neither saying anything, before Yuuri took a step back, turning towards the entrance to the Slytherin dorms. Just before he turned, he spoke.

“Um…good night.”

“Yeah, good night,” Victor breathed. Then his expression turned sharper, a challenging smile on his face.

“I look forward to seeing you next week. Don’t think I’ll be going easy on you,” he warned dangerously.

“Good,” Yuuri said before he could stop himself. “Don’t.”

Victor’s eyes widened in surprise at the statement, and in that moment, Yuuri felt strangely powerful. He should’ve felt embarrassed for blurting something out like that, but he _needed_ Victor to realize that he was just as serious about this tournament as Victor was, that he was capable of much more than Victor thought.

“You’re one surprise after another, Yuuri Katsuki,” he murmured. There was something about the way Victor said his name that sent a thrill through Yuuri: the way he dragged out the middle vowels of his name, how he rolled the “r” at the end. It was like hearing his name being said in a completely new way.

Yuuri smiled at comment, not sure what to say or how to feel about it. He turned and walked to the stone wall where the entrance was located, feeling Victor’s eyes on his back like an overbearing presence. After muttering the password, he risked a look behind him to find Victor with his back turned, walking away.

He exhaled loudly once he was in the safety of the common room, his thoughts flying through the conversation at top speed. There were too many questions, too many possibilities he didn’t want to entertain, too many feelings about Victor that he didn’t want to _believe_.

It didn’t mean he wasn’t hoping they were true, though.

 _I’d describe it as the face of someone who realized they’re in_ love _._

“Shut up, Phichit,” he mumbled to himself, covering his face.

Yuuri will admit: he does like Victor. A lot. More than a lot. But he’d always loved Victor from afar, his feelings confined to an adoring fan in the stands, an opponent on the pitch who hoped to play on the same level as him. Never like this, where they stood face-to-face, with no distance between them. It was too much for him to handle, and he pushed those feelings down, down into the deepest recesses of his heart, all the way down to the soles of his feet.

 _Just a competitor just a competitor just a competitor_ , he reminded himself over and over again. Yes, that’s right: he’s just a competitor, someone who’ll have Victor’s attention until this tournament ends, then he’ll leave with just a faint memory.

_He’ll never feel the same way about you._

It took him much too long to fall asleep that night.

//

It was four days before the first task, and Yuuri was a nervous wreck.

He had no clue what the first task would be, only given a simple but cryptic description by Celestino: _The first task is designed to test your daring; courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard (1)._

“What does that even _mean_?” Yuuri grumbled into his pillow, exhausted after a day of classes, studying, Quidditch and duelling with Minako- _sensei_. He felt worn to the bone, both physically and mentally, like an elastic band that kept stretching and stretching until it was about to snap.

A sudden buzz yanked Yuuri out of his thoughts. It was a text from Phichit; Hogwarts had surprisingly decent service for a place that was hidden from the Muggle world.

 _Meet me at the Forbidden Forest at 9_ , it read. _Don’t tell anyone and make sure no one is following you. This is important!!!!!!!!!!!_

Yuuri frowned. Why would Phichit tell him to do something like this? Not only was it against school rules, it was downright _insane_ to wander into the forest at night. And why the secrecy?

 _Why tho?_ he texted back.

 _I’ll tell you once you get to the forest. Trust me_ , Phichit texted back a moment later.

Yuuri sighed. It was stupid, it was dangerous, but he trusted Phichit with his life.

 _Alright_ , he replied. _I’ll meet you there tonight_.

//

“You better have a damn good reason for dragging me out here,” Yuuri whispered as Phichit led him deep into the forest. He snuck out of his dormitory relatively easily, since no one ever noticed him, and met Phichit at the edge of the forest.

“Just shut up and follow me, okay?” he hissed, practically dragging Yuuri through the darkness, with only a small flashlight and the moon lighting the way. Even in the poor lighting, he could tell Phichit was unusually serious, completely focused on the path. They took a few turns, going deeper and deeper into the forest until Yuuri heard a sound that made his blood freeze.

He’s never encountered one before, only seeing pictures of them in textbooks and holding Phichit’s miniature versions of them in his hands, but he had a very good guess about what creature that roar came from.

“There,” Phichit pointed as they crouched, peering between the various bushes and trees in front of them. In a clearing some distance away from the pair were three very aggressive dragons, clawing and biting at the large cages that contained them, breathing out huge puffs of fire. A group of wizards kept the flames at bay, but Yuuri still felt the intense heat from far away.

“Wh-what is this? Why are there _dragons_ here?” Yuuri asked, his voice raised by two octaves.

“For the tournament,” Phichit replied gravely. “They’re your first task.”

“Are you _serious_?” Yuuri screeched loudly, not caring if anyone else heard him. “ _Dragons?!_ ”

“I didn’t believe it at first,” Phichit sighed, running a hand through his hair. He was very tense, a stark contrast to his usually cheery demeanor.

“Mekhala told me they were sending over some dragons from the sanctuary for the Tournament, and I passed it off as a joke at first. But then she arrived with them, showed me once she got here, and I’m seriously starting to wonder if Celestino’s trying to kill all of you.”

A bright flash made Yuuri look back at his impending doom, and he could faintly make out Phichit’s sister, her face contorted with effort as she quelled the flames with her wand.

“What does he want us to do? Fight them?” Yuuri squeaked.

“Well, from what Mekhala mentioned, I believe they’re nesting mothers? They’re _extremely_ protective over their eggs,” Phichit recalled. “My best guess would be some sort of retrieval task.”

“Oh my God…” Yuuri whispered. “I’m so fucked.”

“What are you two doing here?” a voice suddenly asked, coming from behind. Phichit whipped his head around so fast, Yuuri was worried he snapped his neck.

“Sara!” he exclaimed in surprise. The witch looked at them both with a suspicious expression, her hands on her hips.

“I saw Yuuri sneaking out and I was wondering what he was up to,” she explained, looking at him pointedly, “then I saw him meet up with you at the forest, and now you’re whispering about nesting mothers and retrieval task? What’s going on –”

Before she could finish the question, another bright flash appeared, followed by a very loud, very angry sounding roar. Sara’s face changed from suspicion to alarm, and she shoved her way between Phichit and Yuuri to see the source of the sound.

“Are those _dragons_?” she asked incredulously. Yuuri nodded, sighing. Since she’s already seen the dragons, he decided there was really no point in keeping the first task from her.

“It’s for the first task,” he said, and her eyes widened with shock. “Phichit thinks we’ll probably have to retrieve something from them.”

“ _Il m_ _io Dio_ …” she breathed. “Not only will this test my daring, it’s gonna be testing my ability to _survive_ through this.”

They stayed silent for a few moments, letting the severity of their situation settle. The wound-up pressure inside Yuuri was starting to become unbearable, the rubber band starting to tear.

“Let’s go back,” he finally said quietly, turning away from the dragons. If he looked at them any longer, he’d just feel worse. The two others agreed, nodding in silence. They started to make their way back to the castle, not one person uttering a single word.

Yuuri’s foot was suddenly caught in a root, and he would have fallen flat on his face if Phichit hadn’t grabbed his arm.

“Thanks Phi-“ he started, but realized both Phichit and Sara were in front of him, not close enough to reach over and stop his fall. He looked around, trying to see if there was another person following them that he hadn’t noticed.

A twig snapped on his right side, and he turned towards the sound. There wasn’t anyone there, but at the same time, he _swore_ he could feel a presence. Tentatively, he took a step towards the space, reaching out a hand. He noticed the leaves on the ground shuffle slightly, along with the ruffling of bushes.

 _It has to be the wind_ , he thought, his hand frozen in the air. His imagination must be going wild that night, because he could actually feel heat emanating from the space in front of his outstretched fingers.

“Yuuri!” Phichit called out. He dropped his hand, turning towards his friend. Sara and Phichit were a couple meters away, waiting for Yuuri.

“Sorry…I thought I saw something,” he apologized, then took one last look at the empty space.

 _I’m just stressed_ , he thought, walking back towards the castle. _It was nothing._

Long after Yuuri left, a boy took off his invisibility cloak.

//

An uneasy feeling was lodged in Yuuri’s chest the next day. After his classes, he walked around the castle, looking for a certain Durmstrang student.

He found Yuri lounging in the Great Hall with Otabek, both of them talking in rapid Russian. As soon as he saw Yuuri, his face soured.

“What do you want?” he asked flatly. “Here to rub your victory in my face even more?”

“I need you to give this to Victor,” Yuuri said, handing him a book about dragons.

“The fuck? Dragons?”

Yuuri nodded, swallowing.

“Why though? It’s not like he needs to know about them,” Yuri asked suspiciously, his green eyes narrowed into slits. Otabek remained silent.

“Trust me, he does,” Yuuri urged, hoping Yuri would catch onto his intentions.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with the first task, does it?” he asked slowly.

“I’m not saying it does,” Yuuri said, “but I _highly suggest_ he read up as much as he could about nesting dragons.”

Yuri looked at him confusedly for a few moments, before understanding dawned on him. He ripped the book from Yuuri’s hands and stood up from the table.

“I’ll give this to him,” he said, and Yuuri breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thanks, Yuri.”

“You’re welcome, or whatever,” he mumbled. Before he left, he gave Yuuri an questioning look.

“Why are you doing this? You do realize you’re ruining your chances of winning,” he asked. Yuuri smiled, since he asked himself the same question last night when he decided to go through with this.

“If I win because I had an unfair advantage, is it really winning?” he asked. Yuri stayed silent, then turned away from him.

“You’re an idiot,” he said, but the insult lacked the usual edge he had in his voice.

Yuuri probably was an idiot. Any _san_ e person would keep this information to themselves, holding onto anything that would give them the advantage over others. But he felt it was unfair that he and Sara would have this extra knowledge, while Victor was left in the dark. Furthermore, if he won against Victor not due to skill, but due to an unfair advantage, he would never be satisfied with himself.

There was also another reason why, but he suppressed that emotion once more, wishing he could push it past the soles of his feet and into the ground, where it would stay.

//

Yuuri, Sara and Victor stood together in the tent as Celestino and Mikhail explained to them the task they were about to face.

“Your task is to retrieve a golden egg from the nest of real eggs,” Celestino explained, and Yuuri silently thanked Phichit for guessing correctly. “Each of you will be assigned a dragon to face, chosen randomly from this bag.”

Mikhail held a burlap sack filled with something moving inside, and Yuuri realized they were probably Phichit’s miniature dragons. He suddenly remembered that one in particular, the small Hungarian Horntail that Phichit affectionately named ChuChu, was especially ferocious, and seemed to hate Yuuri.

If the miniature version was already hard to handle, Yuuri didn’t want to _think_ about what the real-life version would be like.

“Well, ladies first,” Mikhail said, offering the sack to Sara. She reached her hand in gingerly, flinching several times, before pulling out a bright green dragon.

“Ah, the Common Welsh Green,” Mikhail commented, moving onto Victor, who stood beside her. He reached inside the sack and pulled out a dragon quickly, holding a silver-blue dragon in his hand.

“Swedish Short-Snout,” Victor stated, his jaw set rigidly.

That only leaves one dragon, and Yuuri didn’t have to reach his hand in to know what it was. ChuChu nipped at Yuuri’s hand angrily, blowing out puffs of fire as he tried to hold onto it.

“Hungarian Horntail,” Mikhail said wryly, as if he knew this dragon was the most dangerous out of the three. He probably felt pity for Yuuri, thinking he’s the weakest of the three competitors, and it was just his luck that he got the strongest dragon.

“Okay, everyone see the tag on the dragon? The number indicates the order you’ll be going in.” Celestino pointed towards the tag on Sara’s dragon, which had a small number “2” on it.

Yuuri didn’t think his luck would worsen, but then he saw the number “1” on the tag and he decided that someone must have placed a Curse on him.

“Ah Yuuri, you’re up first,” Celestino stated. He gulped, trying to calm his rapidly fraying nerves. The headmaster started talking, but it somehow sounded muffled, like Yuuri was underwater. His vision was reduced to a tunnel, all his focus centered on the dragon in his hand.

 _You’ll be fine_ , Minako- _sensei_ ’s voice floated in his mind, _We’ve been practicing for so long, came up with the perfect plan. I believe you have the skill to pull it off!_

 _Just remember what I said,_ Phichit’s voice joined in, _Follow my advice, and you’ll be fine._

Will he though? Will he really be fine?

 _What if the charm doesn’t work?_ he thought. _What if the dragon burns my Yajirushi before it gets to me? What if it bites my leg off? What if what if what if what if –_

“Yuuri?”

The sound of his name cut through the muffled noise, returning his hearing to normal. There was a gentle pressure on his shoulder and he turned to find Victor looking at him with a concerned expression.

“Y-yeah?” he stuttered. It was then that he realized he was shaking, his breaths coming out in shallow pants.

“Breathe,” Victor murmured, moving his hand to rub soothing circles into Yuuri’s back. He tried to even out his breathing, taking deep breaths and exhaling out slowly, like he’d done so many times with Phichit. Eventually he could get air into his lungs, and the trembling stopped.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “I’m fine now.”

“Alright,” Victor responded, his hand moving towards the nape of Yuuri’s neck, his fingers barely scratching at the short hairs there.

It was as if all the sensation in his body was pinpointed to the exact spots that Victor touched, where his fingers brushed lightly on Yuuri’s neck, sending shivers down his spine. He found it oddly comforting, to be touched like this, but his face felt much too hot at the same time.

“Yuuri! Get ready,” Celestino yelled from the entrance of the tent, snapping Yuuri out of his trance. Victor’s hand fell away, and he almost flinched from the sudden coolness on his neck. He nodded at Celestino, then inhaled deeply.

“Good luck,” Victor said quietly, giving Yuuri a soft smile. He returned the expression, then headed towards the entrance. Sara wished him the same, touching his arm lightly as he walked past her. He returned the gesture, smiling slightly.

He could hear the roaring of the crowds outside, the deafening cries shaking the ground he walked on. Squaring his shoulders, he gripped his wand tightly and steeled himself.

_Breathe._

“And our first champion, from Hogwarts: Yuuri Katsuki!”

The cheers almost drowned him as he stepped outside into the light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1) this was taken off the HP wiki, it's the description JKR used in the book  
> alright, i don't know why this chapter became a monster, or why this fucking fic is turning into a monster in general, but next update will be sometime around july 25th. i'm so tired. chapter count has increased to 6, but knowing me it's gonna end up being something ridiculous like 10 ;___;  
> scream at me on [tumblr](http://domokunrainbowkinz.tumblr.com/)


	3. The First Task

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *comes in a month later with starbucks* lmao update's here guys

The first thing Yuuri noticed were the hundreds of spectators cheering in the stands, waving colourful banners that blurred together and made his head spin. His hearing became muffled, the hollers and cheers fading into the background as he took in the scene in front of him.

The second thing he noticed was the full-sized version of ChuChu.

The Hungarian Horntail sat on the other side of the enclosure, crouched over its eggs protectively as it glared at Yuuri. Were dragons even capable of expressions? He dimly recalled Phichit’s comment about how he thought dragon smiles were cute, but they always looked angry to Yuuri.

In the pale afternoon light, the golden egg winked at Yuuri, nestled within the clutch of real eggs. He focused on the task at hand: summon his Yajirushi, distract the dragon, swoop in, then grab the egg. Simple, right?

Yuuri took one step towards the dragon and that was enough to make it roar loudly, the sound nearly shattering his eardrums, reverberating around his skull. Little puffs of fire came out of its nostrils as it glared at Yuuri, its sharp yellow eyes following his every move as he slowly stalked closer.

_I should summon my Yajirushi now_ , Yuuri thought. He remembered Hungarian Horntail flames can reach up to fifty feet, and even though getting burnt to death by a dragon seemed like a cool way to die, he’d rather die peacefully in his sleep after living a long and fulfilling life.

He raised his wand, then called out the incantation.

“ _A-accio Yaji-jirushi…_ ” he stammered out. It was probably his most pathetic attempt at a Summoning charm in his life, and of course it had to be in front of so many people. There were already whispers surrounding him, filling his head.

_Did you just hear that? What an idiot._

_He can’t even do a Summoning charm correctly._

_What’s he even doing?_

_Unworthy._

_Fluke._

_Fraud._

_FRAUD._

FRAUD.

He could feel himself crumbling, like what happened at the Quidditch match months ago. When Vicchan died, when he was completely out of it, when he played against Victor-

Victor.

_Breathe_ , his voice floated into Yuuri’s head, low and soft. Rubbing circles into his back, fingers lingering on his neck. Looking at him with sky-blue eyes, like a warm summer day.

Yuuri closed his eyes and took a deep breath, silencing the voices calling him a fraud. Repeated Victor’s words over and over in his head, until it was all he could hear. Then he opened his eyes, and raised his wand again, this time filled with determination.

_I’ll get it right this time_ , he thought.

“ _Accio Yajirushi!_ ”

His incantation rang around the enclosure, loud and clear. Dimly, he heard Morooka- _san_ announce to the crowd: “In an unexpected move, it seems champion Katsuki is planning on using his broom to retrieve the egg!”

Yuuri waited, counted each passing second, prayed with every atom of his being that his Summoning charm worked.

_One…two…three…four…_

A familiar _whoosh_ made Yuuri turn towards the noise, and to his immense relief, the Yajirushi flew towards him. He reached out and grabbed the handle, hurriedly mounting it as he maneuvered closer to the Horntail.

It tracked his movements with its cat-like eyes, focusing on him with unwavering intensity as he zipped around the enclosure. Yuuri felt like a snitch being chased by a very large, very dangerous, fire-breathing Seeker as the Horntail flapped its wings, raising itself into the air. It still kept very close to the eggs, only moving slightly towards Yuuri.

From what Phichit told him, and from what he read in the countless books he studied in the library, he knew Horntails loved using their tails in combat. This was proven true by the way the Horntail was swishing it eagerly, always waving it towards Yuuri whenever he got close. It shot a jet of flame towards him, which he dodged just in the nick of time, the fire singing off a few hairs on his head.

It was close. Too close.

Yuuri tightened the grip on his broomstick, flying high above the Horntail, goading it to follow him up. It flapped its wings, still hovering near the eggs, staring at Yuuri with its amber eyes.

“Come on…” Yuuri muttered as he circled above the Horntail, its head turning to keep focused on him. Eventually it gave up, roaring in frustration, kicking off the ground and flying up to meet Yuuri.

_NOW_! Yuuri thought, then dove down towards the clutch of eggs, dodging the Horntail’s claws and tail as he maneuvered past it. He reached his arm out, the golden egg coming closer and closer towards him until he was able to snatch it up, flying back towards the tent.

“Amazing! He was off to a shaky start, but champion Katsuki has managed to retrieve the egg with an impressive time! With that performance, I’m expecting high scores from our panel of judges!” Morooka- _san_ announced. Yuuri unmounted his broomstick in a daze, stumbling into the tent with the golden egg tucked in his arm.

He actually did it.

How did he do it?

“Yuuri!” a voice exclaimed happily, and suddenly he was enveloped in a bone crushing hug that nearly squeezed all the air out of him.

“You were so awesome out there and wow, I wouldn’t have thought of using a broomstick, you’re so smart! And you probably could’ve gotten to the egg faster if you used different diversion tactics but that was still so quick, but that is one _risky_ move and what if you got hurt? And the dragon almost burned your face off, are you okay?”

Yuuri’s head was spinning from the stream of comments that Victor just unleashed on him, and he could only manage a nod as Victor pulled back from his hug, placing his hands on either side of Yuuri’s face. He studied Yuuri carefully with his deep, blue eyes, trying to see if there were any injuries.

“I-” Yuuri’s voice came out hoarse, and he cleared his throat, “I’m fine. I only got a few hairs burned off.”

Victor frowned at the statement, his lips pursed in concern. His pink, full lips, that looked soft to the touch…

In that moment, Yuuri suddenly realized how close together they were, and he immediately jumped apart, giving them more distance. He didn’t want to give anyone the wrong idea.

“Ms. Crispino, you’re next!” Mikhail announced, and Yuuri looked over to Sara, who was standing near the entrance with a serious expression on her face.

“Good luck!” Yuuri yelled, and Sara turned towards him with a strained smile.

“Thanks! And good job out there,” she responded.

“Make sure it doesn’t burn all your hair off,” Victor teased, and Sara stuck her tongue out at him in response. Taking a deep breath, she stepped outside of the tent.

Yuuri wanted to stay and watch, but he was immediately being shepherded off to the infirmary tent, where Madam Pomfrey looked over his injuries as she voiced out her disapproval of the tournament.

“Dragons!” she exclaimed as she examined Yuuri’s face for any burns. “Of course it had to be dragons. I’ll have to say, you’re quite lucky you got away relatively unscathed. I’ll just patch up some burns on your face.”

“Thanks,” Yuuri mumbled, struggling to stay still as she rubbed some funny-smelling ointment on his face that reminded him of his mother’s medicine cabinet. After, he made his way back over to the champions’ tent. Sara staggered in just as he returned, rubble all tangled up in her hair with visible scratches on her face. Despite that though, she had a huge smile on her face, raising up the egg in her hand.

“Took a while, but I did it!” she proclaimed, and Yuuri congratulated her. She was practically dragged over to the infirmary tent, protesting the entire way because she wanted to watch Victor face off against the Shortsnout.

He waited near the entrance, staring out expressionlessly. To anyone, it may look like he’s completely calm, waiting patiently for Mikhail to call out his name. But Yuuri could tell how his jaw was clenched firmly, his fists balled together tightly, his body just one, tense spring.

He cautiously walked over, not sure if he was intruding. Before he could stop himself, he put a hand on Victor’s shoulder. He flinched at the touch, and Yuuri retracted his hand quickly, like he touched a hot stove, not sure if he crossed any lines.

“Um, sorry…” he mumbled, and Victor looked at him with a surprised expression.

“No…it’s fine.”

“Uh, good luck,” Yuuri said quietly, giving Victor an encouraging smile. His eyes brightened, his body relaxing a significant degree, pressure released from the spring.

“Thank you,” he breathed, then Mikhail announced that it was Victor’s turn to go. He gave Yuuri a smile, then walked out the tent.

The Swedish Shortsnout was in the same position as the Horntail from before, crouched over its eggs protectively. However, once it saw Victor, it let out a fierce roar and unfurled its wings immediately, getting ready to charge at him.

Yuuri frowned. This was unusual for a dragon, especially for a nesting mother. Why would it want to charge at a human, leaving its eggs unprotected?

Victor broke off into a sprint, running towards a pile of rocks while the dragon roared loudly again, this time shooting a brilliant blue flame in his direction. Thankfully it missed, Victor diving behind the rocks. Yuuri knew that Shortsnouts had the hottest flames, able to incinerate timber and bone to ashes in seconds, so Victor would need to be careful and fast.

Inside, he couldn’t help but worry. Of course, Yuuri knew the dragon keepers were nearby, able to step in if the situation got life-threatening, and he also trusted Victor: he was a genius, able to think on his toes and probably had remarkable spellwork, so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.

Right?

A small, brown poodle suddenly appeared from behind the pile of rocks, padding over to the dragon with its tongue lolling out adorably. Yuuri felt a pang in his chest; it had an uncanny resemblance to Vicchan, right down to the curly, fluffy fur. He heard rumours that Victor had a strong aptitude for Transfiguration, so Yuuri’s best guess was that he Transfigured a rock into a poodle, probably to distract the dragon.

He was worried it wouldn’t work, since the dragon seemed dead-set on completely destroying Victor, but its eyes completely focused on the dog, following it as it toddled around the arena. The dragon seemed significantly calmer, its interest completely shifted over to the poodle. From the edge of the rocks, Yuuri could see Victor peeking out slightly, assessing the situation.

When it seemed clear the Shortsnout was completely preoccupied with the puppy, sniffing at it curiously, Victor snuck out from behind the rocks, heading towards the nest of eggs. Yuuri held his breath, his heart thundering in his chest as he watched Victor carefully tread across the arena, keeping a close eye on the Shortsnout.

“What’s happening? Did I miss anything?” Sara said suddenly from beside him, bandages covering many areas of her face.

“The dragon is unusually aggressive,” Yuuri murmured. “It’s acting like Victor personally offended it or something.”

“Well it’s Victor, I wouldn’t be surprised if he accidentally called it ugly or something a long time ago,” she commented, but her face looked concerned. They both watched in tense silence as Victor sneak across the enclosure.

After what seemed like an eternity, Victor finally reached the nest, and Yuuri let out a sigh of relief. The plan was risky, and involved extreme stealth, but somehow, it worked.

Or that’s what he thought.

Just as Victor was about to grab the golden egg, Yuuri heard gasps and screams from the audience. He immediately looked back over to the Shortsnout.

The dragon was chewing something, and the dog was gone. Yuuri suddenly remembered Shortsnouts liked to eat small dogs.

Victor also looked back towards the dragon, and that was his mistake.

It roared loudly, then charged over to him with unnatural speed. Even for a Shortsnout, this was quicker than normal. It raised its claws and slashed at Victor, who grabbed the egg and dove away as its claws came down.

He was too slow.

The scream that came from him as the claws ripped into his shoulder was a sound Yuuri would never forget for as long as he lived.

The dragon keepers immediately ran towards the dragon with their wands out, casting charms to subdue it as it kept thrashing and attacking at Victor, who clutched his bleeding shoulder, his face contorted with pain. He staggered back to the tent then immediately collapsed.

Right into Yuuri’s arms.

His palm was covered in red when he removed it from Victor’s shoulder, sending a wave of nausea rolling over him.

“We-we need to get him to the infirmary,” Yuuri stammered out, putting Victor’s good arm over his shoulders, supporting his weight.

“I’ll go with you,” Sara said, and the three of them headed over to the infirmary tent.

When they left, Yuuri didn’t miss the downright murderous look Mikhail gave them, sending a chill all the way down his spine.

//

“Something wasn’t right with the dragon,” Phichit said as they ate at the Great Hall that evening. They managed to escape all the ecstatic Hogwarts students, who congratulated Yuuri on his high score, which currently placed him in first.

Part of him still couldn’t believe it, that his mess of a plan actually worked and he got away the most unscathed out of the three champions. Sara took a slightly longer time retrieving the egg, casting a Conjunctivitis Curse on the dragon so it couldn’t see, making it flail around blindly. This explained all the scratches on her face, and also the broken eggs in the nest. Despite that though, she also got a relatively good score, placing her in second.

This meant Victor, who Yuuri thought would dominate the competition, was placed last.

He wasn’t able to see how Victor was doing, immediately shooed away by Madam Pomfrey after he was brought to the infirmary tent. She almost passed out after seeing how much blood Victor had lost.

Already he could hear the comments going around the students after the task.

_Can you believe it? Nikiforov’s in last place._

_Totally didn’t expect it. I thought he’d be in first for sure._

_I’m surprised Katsuki’s in first._

_I don’t think he’ll be in first for long, I’m sure Nikiforov or Crispino are gonna completely wipe the floor next task._

_But damn, that’s a pretty nasty dragon that Nikiforov got. Little unfair, don’t you think?_

He tried to ignore those comments.

“What do you mean ‘something wasn’t right’?” Yuuri asked Phichit apprehensively, unsure of whether he wanted to hear the answer.

“ChuChu and the Welsh Green acted like typical nesting mothers, but the Shortsnout…”

Phichit furrowed his brows, deep in thought. Yuuri held his breath.

“It acted like…Victor had previously attacked it,” he finally said. “Shortsnouts don’t interact with humans that much; their natural habitat is in wild, uninhabited areas. So for a Shortsnout to respond so quickly to one, and so aggressively too, suggests that they must have had contact with Victor sometime in the past. And not the good kind of contact either.”

“So what you’re saying is…somehow…Victor attacked this dragon in the past?” Yuuri asked incredulously. From what he knew about Victor (which, embarrassingly, was quite a lot), he’d _never_ heard of him interacting with dragons, much less attack one. Victor was a Quidditch player, not a dragon hunter.

“It’s unlikely,” Phichit replied, echoing Yuuri’s thoughts. “My best guess would be that someone tampered with them beforehand.”

“But how would they know that Victor would pick the Shortsnout?”

“I don’t know…but I mean, he could’ve just been unlucky, right?” Phichit said. “I mean, there’s no way someone would have it out _that badly_ for Victor.”

“I hope not…” Yuuri mumbled, turning the conversation over in his head.

“Don’t think about it too much,” Phichit reassured. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

Yuuri smiled, although he still felt uneasy inside. There was just something…off, about this entire situation.

He shook his head. He was probably overthinking, and like Phichit said, he’s sure it’s nothing to worry about.

//

As Yuuri was heading back to the Slytherin dungeon, he heard angry Russian from a nearby room. Against his better judgement, he peeked inside, curiosity overtaking him.

He found Mikhail speaking to someone in the fireplace, his voice low and urgent. Yuuri could understand little snippets of Russian, but Mikhail was speaking much too fast for him to understand the conversation. But from the tone of voice, he guessed it must be something serious. Yuuri’s best guess would be that he was probably talking with someone to the ministry about the tournament, maybe about the planning for the second task, or even possibly about the Shortsnout’s abnormal behaviour.

Yuuri started walking, deciding this wasn’t his business, when Mikhail suddenly mentioned “Nikiforov”.

He froze at the name. Mikhail had spat it out, like it was garbage.

It was mentioned a few more times, with the same malice. Yuuri thought back to his conversation with Phichit.

Mikhail was also responsible for overseeing the dragons, right?

An uneasy feeling washed over Yuuri like a chill, the bile rising in his throat. He didn’t want to think about what this could imply.

_I’m just overthinking_ , he thought to himself, hurrying away. _There’s no way he would tamper with the dragons._

He forced himself not to think about it, but he kept this bit of information in the back of his head. Who knows? Yuuri might be right.

He really hoped he wasn’t.

//

Because of his injury, Victor had to stay in the infirmary for a couple days. He had countless visitors wishing him a speedy recovery, as well as mountains of gifts, ranging from chocolates, to flowers, to just simple handmade cards.

Yuuri clutched his own gift in his hands, standing outside the infirmary. Compared to other gifts, his wasn’t anything remarkable, just something simple that he whipped up in a couple days.

He took half a step forward, then two steps back. Then another step forward, then back. On the one hand, he _really_ wanted to see how Victor was doing and to give him his gift, but on the other hand, he’s so embarrassed with his gift he’d rather leave it outside and hope Victor finds it, somehow.

_You faced off against a_ dragon _, Yuuri,_ Phichit’s voice floated into his head. _This is nothing_.

Yuuri took a deep breath and walked into the infirmary, heading towards Victor’s bed.

The Durmstrang seeker was totally engrossed in a book, his right shoulder heavily bandaged, his silver hair spilling down his back.

He didn’t seem to notice Yuuri arrive, still reading when he stopped at the foot of his bed. Maybe Yuuri could just put down his gift and leave without a trace, like an anxious tooth fairy who didn’t want anyone to notice him.

As he set his gift down, he accidentally knocked a stack of chocolates onto the ground, making the loudest clattering noise as they fell. He saw Madam Pomfrey give him a murderous look from across the room, making him wish the floor would just swallow him whole.

“Oh, Yuuri!”

Were there charms that made the floor quicksand? So that he could just sink into the room below and never speak of this again? He started going through his mental list of spells.

“If you sit on the floor for too long, your butt will go numb!” Victor said cheerfully, his book abandoned. He patted at the spot next to him on the bed.

“Come on, sit here!”

Yuuri picked up the fallen boxes wordlessly, then got up and took a seat on the chair next to Victor’s bed. A flash of disappointment momentarily passed over his face, but it was gone as soon as Yuuri noticed it.

“How’s your shoulder?” Yuuri asked, gesturing towards the bandages.

“It’s okay,” Victor replied, scrunching his nose. “Madam Pomfrey says it’ll take at least a week before I’ll be out, so I have…four more days?”

“I see...”

“But I feel like I’ll be out in less than that, because I can sort of move my shoulder now, see?” Victor said, then started to move when Yuuri stopped him.

“Don’t do that! You’ll reopen the wound!” he yelled, putting his hands on Victor’s chest. Madam Pomfrey shot him another glare, more murderous than the last, and Yuuri swallowed thickly.

“That’s what Madam Pomfrey said…” Victor mumbled, and Yuuri quickly took his hands off him, sitting back down.

“Because she’s _right_ ,” he insisted. “If you keep moving around like that, you’ll be in here for a _month_.”

Victor pouted, sinking into his pillows. Yuuri sighed.

“I’m…I’m sorry,” Yuuri mumbled. “I was a little harsh.”

“It’s fine.”

Even Yuuri could tell that it wasn’t fine. He gulped, then placed his gift on Victor’s lap.

“Um…it’s for you…”

Victor brightened up immediately, then eagerly reached forward and opened the box. Yuuri looked at his hands, avoiding Victor’s face.

“Is…this a Snitch?” he asked, and Yuuri peeked up at his face. His eyes were wide open, filled with childlike curiosity and wonder, his mouth slightly agape.

“Yeah,” Yuuri replied, “it’s an origami Snitch.”

“Origami?”

“Folded paper,” Yuuri explained, and was it possible for Victor’s eyes to open even wider?

“Did you fold this?” he asked quietly, and Yuuri nodded, slightly confused. It’s just origami, which he’d done his entire life. It was a good way to keep his hands busy, when he’s sitting down with nothing to do. His father was even better at it, folding dragons and charming them so they could fly and breathe little breaths of fire, which amazed Yuuri as a child.

“Wow…” Victor breathed, holding the paper Snitch like it was the most precious diamond in the world.

“Try throwing it,” Yuuri suggested, and Victor frowned. He bit his lip, then tossed it into the air gently.

The wings of the Snitch started flapping, and it was floating in the air. Yuuri let out a sigh of relief, thankful that his charm worked.

“It flies!” Victor exclaimed excitedly, then clapped his hands together without thinking. He cried out in pain, and Yuuri could already feel Madam Pomfrey’s presence behind him.

“Alright, that’s enough for today!” she scolded, and Yuuri slowly turned until he was face-to-face with her fuming expression. “You’ve disturbed him enough, and Merlin knows he’s already making recovery _very difficult_ for himself.”

“Sorry…” Yuuri mumbled, then got up from his chair and made his way to the exit. He waved goodbye to Victor, who beamed at him with a large, heart-shaped smile.

Once he got outside, he couldn’t stop the large smile spreading over his face.

//

The next few weeks passed in a blur, with more homework, classes, Quidditch and duelling sessions with Minako- _sensei_. Mikhail also revealed to the champions that the golden egg they retrieved in the first task contained a clue about what the second task would be.

When Yuuri first opened it one night, he woke up the entire Slytherin house because it let out an ear-piercing scream.

After that incident, he never tried to open it again, unless he wanted to blow his eardrums out. He had no idea what kind of clue that could be. Maybe something to do with banshees? Mandrakes? Yuuri wasn’t the best at Herbology, so he _really_ hoped it wouldn’t be mandrakes.

There was also the Yule Ball that was coming up on Christmas Day, and Yuuri didn’t even want to _think_ about it. The prospect of getting a date, dressing up, and enduring an entire evening of socialising and dancing made him want to crawl into bed and take the world’s longest nap. He was nowhere close to getting a date, so he’ll probably end up going with Phichit, who seemed excited by the event.

Yuuri had a pretty uneventful birthday, but because he turned seventeen, that meant he was of age and could do magic outside of Hogwarts. His family sent him gifts and a letter, which mentioned how proud they were of him and congratulated him on his result on the first task.

It wasn’t just his parents that congratulated him. The entire Slytherin house and almost all of Hogwarts lavished praise upon him, and he wasn’t sure how to deal with all of it. He wasn’t used to being at the top, to have people say good things about him, and frankly he’s sure that they’ll all be let down by the second task.

_I’m surprised Katsuki’s in first._

_I don’t think he’ll be in first for long, I’m sure Nikiforov or Crispino are gonna completely wipe the floor next task._

The words floated back to him, loud and clear, and he could feel the pressure once again, the rubber band stretching within him.

When December rolled around and snow started to fall, Phichit practically _dragged_ Yuuri out to Hogsmeade with him, saying that he “needed a break, you’re _way_ too stressed.”

Yuuri sipped his butterbeer quietly, watching the conversation flow between Phichit, Seung-gil and a couple of other students. It was loud and lively in the Three Broomsticks, a popular hideout for Hogwarts students, and it seemed lots of Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students were introduced as well.

It was starting to get uncomfortably stuffy, and Yuuri could feel himself sweating beneath all his layers.

“Hey, I’m gonna take a walk outside,” he announced, shuffling out of his seat.

“Want me to go with you?” Phichit asked, and Yuuri shook his head.

“No, it’s fine,” he replied, and Phichit nodded in understanding. He knew that Yuuri needed some alone time occasionally, when interacting with others was too much.

He stepped out into the cold winter air, taking a deep breath. His exhale came out in a puff of smoke, and he watched it float up into the sky, fading in the pale, afternoon sky.

Yuuri walked around the village, stopping by some shops to look at their merchandise, buying some candy from Honeydukes. He purposefully avoided Madam Puddifoot’s, the frills and bows always off-putting to him, as well as the couples inside. The thought of Victor inside there with someone, possibly sharing a pot of tea like so many couples, passed through his mind momentarily.

He pushed it down immediately. Whoever Victor was with right now was none of his business, and it’s not like he cared.

(Well, maybe he did care. A bit. A lot.)

After some aimless wandering, Yuuri found himself a ways away from the village, close to the train station. He was about to turn back and return to the Three Broomsticks when he spotted the bright red of Durmstrang robes fluttering in the distance.

Victor was standing a few meters from Yuuri, staring up at the sky, the falling snowflakes getting caught in his hair. He had a faraway look in his eyes, and he looked almost…sad.

Yuuri opened his mouth, then closed it. Bit his bottom lip. Opened his mouth again.

“Victor?”

He turned to Yuuri with a surprised look on his face.

“Oh, hi Yuuri!” he said cheerfully, then quickly made his way over to Yuuri. “What are you doing at the train station?”

“I was just taking a walk,” he replied. “What about you?”

“Oh…” Victor had a sheepish look on his face. “Well you see, I was supposed to meet Chris at Honeydukes later, so I decided to go early to find it, but then I got lost…”

“You…got lost? At Hogsmeade?” Yuuri asked slowly. Victor nodded, a slight blush spreading over his face.

How Victor got lost at a small village was a mystery to Yuuri, but since no one else was around, the responsibility of taking him to Honeydukes fell on his shoulders.

“I’ll take you to Honeydukes, it’s not far from here,” he said, and Victor gave him a big, heart-shaped smile.

“You will? Thanks, Yuuri!” he exclaimed, then happily followed Yuuri as they headed back towards the village.

Normally, it took Yuuri around fifteen minutes maximum to walk from the station to Honeydukes. But Victor insisted on looking inside every single shop they passed by, seemingly amazed by everything they sold.

Victor stopped in front of Madam Puddifoot’s, and Yuuri had to drag him away before he got any ideas.

“But Yuuri! It looks so _cute_ in there!”

“Only couples go there,” Yuuri said, his face burning.

“We can pretend to be a couple!” Victor suggested, linking his arms with Yuuri’s. “I think we look like one.”

Yuuri felt his heart stutter at the statement.

“Please don’t suggest something like that,” he mumbled, pulling away.

“Why not?” Victor asked, his face falling slightly. He almost sounded…disappointed?

_Because you’re out of my league,_ Yuuri wanted to say. _Because I know I’m nothing special to you, that you’ll forget about me after the tournament, but I don’t think I’ll ever be over you._

“Oh…I see,” Victor suddenly said, snapping Yuuri out of his thoughts. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had a significant other already.”

“It’s fine – wait, what?” Yuuri asked.

“It must’ve been awkward for you to hear that,” Victor continued, and were the tips of his ears turning bright red?

“Oh no, no! I’m not – I mean, I’m single. Very single,” Yuuri clarified. Why did he even add the last part? It’s not like it wasn’t obvious.

“Oh. That’s good…I mean, no, it’s not – unless it’s your choice, which I mean, you do you I guess, um…”

They stood in silence, the awkward moments passing by painfully slow.

“Uh, Zonko’s Joke Shop is up ahead,” Yuuri said. “Let’s go there.”

They started walking towards the shop, neither saying a word to each other. Finally, Victor spoke.

“Yuuri?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you have any ex-lovers?”

“…..No comment.”

“Do you have a crush on anyone right now?”

“No!” Yuuri screeched, a little too loudly. Victor laughed.

“It’s okay to have a crush on someone!” he said cheerfully. “In fact, _I_ have a crush on someone right now.”

Yuuri nearly tripped over his feet.

“What? Who?” Yuuri asked before he could stop himself.

“It’s a secret,” Victor said, putting a finger on his lips.

“Right…”

It’s extremely likely that Victor was just joking, so Yuuri tried not to think too much about it. And even if he wasn’t, it’s not like Yuuri could do anything about it. There were loads of other people more good-looking, smart and sociable than himself, better suited for someone like Victor.

When they finally reached Zonko’s Joke Shop, Victor was immediately entranced by all the different objects flying through the air, pointing out every insignificant detail he could see.

“Yuuri, what’s this?” he asked, holding up an innocent-looking teacup. Yuuri was about to tell him to put it down, when he got an idea.

“Oh, it’s just a teacup,” he said, “but I think there’s some writing on the side…”

“Huh? Where?” Victor asked, and Yuuri had to stifle in his laughter as Victor brought it closer to his face. Suddenly, a set of teeth appeared on the cup and it bit down on Victor’s nose.

“Ow! _Ti cho blyad_?” he yelled, and Yuuri burst into laughter. He’d fallen for the same trick when Phichit took him here the first time, and being the one who got bitten, he had no idea what was so funny about it. But now, after seeing Victor rubbing his nose and staring at the teacup confusedly, Yuuri thought it was the most hilarious thing he’s ever seen in his life.

“They’re Nose-Biting Teacups!” he wheezed.

“So they…bite your nose?”

Yuuri nodded, wiping at his eyes. Victor stayed silent, staring at the teacup. A feeling of unease started to creep up on Yuuri, who suddenly realized that it was sort of an asshole move. This was the sort of joke someone pulled on a good friend, and as far as Yuuri knew, he and Victor were only friendly competitors. Did he mess up his entire relationship with Victor, all because he wanted a laugh?

“I’m getting ten of these and bringing them all to the Quidditch team party next time,” he whispered, then looked at Yuuri with a devilish grin.

They walked out of the shop with a bag of teacups, Victor giggling as he told Yuuri about how boring the parties usually were, and how these teacups would be “the funniest thing _ever_.”

Yuuri will admit, from the interviews he’s read, he didn’t expect Victor to be the type that pulled pranks on people. But then again, the interviews never mentioned how he’s always curious about anything and everything, that his mouth turns into a heart when he’s smiling, or how he’s almost like a small child trapped in a seventeen-year old body, in an endearing way.

This afternoon had been one surprise after another, all in the form of Victor Nikiforov.

They were nearing Honeydukes when Victor suddenly let out a loud sneeze, making Yuuri jump from surprise.

“Are you cold?” he asked, handing Victor a tissue. Their hands brushed momentarily, and Yuuri could feel that Victor’s fingers were ice cold.

“No, I’ll be fine,” he said, then blew his nose. But Yuuri noticed how he was trembling slightly, his cheeks a cold-bitten pink.

“I’m just worried that you’ll get sick,” Yuuri responded. Then, he got an idea.

“Here, take my scarf,” he offered, unwrapping the striped silver and green scarf from his neck. The cold air sent a shiver down his spine as soon as it hit his bare skin, but he fought to hide it as he wound the article of clothing around Victor’s neck. “It’s not much, but hopefully it’ll keep you warm for the rest of today.”

“Yuuri…” Victor whispered, his voice half-muffled by the scarf. There as unreadable expression on his face when Yuuri pulled away. He touched the scarf that he was now bundled up in, like he was making sure it was actually there.

“You can return it when you don’t need it anymore,” Yuuri said. He wasn’t sure why Victor looked so…vulnerable, like the simple act of lending him a scarf was something precious to him.

“What about you? Aren’t you cold now?” Victor asked, his voice strangely stilted.

“I’ll be fine,” Yuuri replied. “I’m headed back to the Three Broomsticks, and we’re going back to Hogwarts soon, so I won’t be out for too long.”

“Oh…okay. Thank you, Yuuri. You didn’t have to.”

“It’s fine! I wanted to, you look amazing in it,” Yuuri accidentally blurted out the last part, then turned bright red. “I-I mean, you look amazing in everything of course, and uh, it looked like you were freezing and I don’t want you to be sick, especially since we have the Yule Ball coming up, and it would totally _suck_ to be sick so-”

He was cut off by a laugh. Victor was doubled over, his face stretched into a large heart-shaped smile as he laughed uncontrollably. It was different from the other times Yuuri saw him laugh around the castle, when someone told him a joke, or when he was talking with professors. This time, he looked more…genuine. Like he was actually enjoying himself, and not just _acting_ like he was.

Seeing Victor laugh like there wasn’t a care in the world was infectious, and soon Yuuri found himself giggling, then he was howling with laughter, tears beginning to form in his eyes. He wasn’t sure what they found so funny, nor why he was even laughing in the first place. The only thing he knew for certain was that he wanted this moment to last forever: just him, Victor, and the overwhelming happiness he felt in his heart.

Soon they ran out of breath and wiped at the tears in their eyes. Yuuri cleared his throat, then looked at Victor, whose face was flushed from exertion.

“Um…it was nice, walking with you,” Yuuri said shyly, rubbing the back of his head.

“Yeah…” Victor breathed, a puff of smoke coming out from his mouth. They stood for a few moments, neither of them saying anything.

“I-I’m gonna head back,” Yuuri broke the awkward silence, jerking a thumb behind his shoulder. “To the Three Broomsticks.”

“Okay.”

“Honeydukes is just up there,” Yuuri pointed towards the candy shop. “There’s a giant sign that says HONEYDUKES on it, you can’t miss it.”

Victor smiled, a sweet one that reached all the way to his eyes, crinkling the corners. Yuuri hoped the puffs of smoke didn’t give away how fast he started breathing, and he _prayed_ Victor didn’t hear how hard his heart was beating. It felt like he just ran a marathon.

“Thanks, Yuuri,” Victor waved, still smiling. “See you around.”

“Yeah. Yeah, uh, see you around, too,” Yuuri stuttered, stumbling over his words. He nearly tripped over himself as he turned and speed-walked towards the small pub.

“Yuuri! You were gone for so long, I thought you got lost,” Phichit said as Yuuri flopped back into his chair. “Hey, where’s your scarf?”

“Oh, I uh, lent it to…someone,” Yuuri replied. Phichit narrowed his eyes.

“Someone, huh?” he asked. “Was this ‘someone’ the reason why you were out for such a long time?”

Yuuri considered lying, but Phichit’s scrutinizing gaze had powerful coercion abilities.

“I ran into…someone, and he was lost and he needed to get to Honeydukes, so I decided to take him there, and we got distracted, so…”

“So you passionately made out with him in an alley!” Phichit finished the sentence for him. “I knew it!”

“No, that’s not what happened!” Yuuri exclaimed, wondering how Phichit jumped to such ridiculous conclusions. “We just looked around at different shops and then Victor bought like ten teacups from Zonko’s – “

“You went on a romantic walk around Hogsmeade with _Victor Nikiforov_?” Phichit asked loudly, and several people turned their heads.

”NO!” Yuuri replied loudly, burying his face in his hands.

Everything was burning. His face was on fire. He wanted the ceiling to collapse _right now_. Faintly, he could hear Phichit laughing, with Seung-gil scolding him in the background.

Yuuri had to endure more of Phichit’s teasing that afternoon before they boarded the train, headed back towards Hogwarts. They were all tired once they got back, worn out from the day’s activities.

As he headed back towards the dormitories that evening, he passed by Victor with a group of Durmstrang students, chattering excitedly in Russian. They momentarily made eye contact, but instead of looking away like usual, Yuuri gave him a small smile.

Victor smiled back.

He was still wearing the scarf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sup homeboys, i wanted to finish this chapter before i went on vacation, but #life happened and i wasn't able to, but it's here!!!!!! a month later!!!!!! pls accept this dumpster fire of a chapter lol  
> also i went to london for my vacation and i went to platform 9 3/4!! it was very cool, i took a picture and fulfilled my childhood dream of running to the hogwarts express with my trolley :')  
> next update will.....probably be september 15th-ish if i'm being honest. i'm taking the MCAT exam on the 1st, so i wanna focus on that for now, which means 0 time for writing, and i'm also going to be working full-time starting sept. 5th. updates are going to be slower, but hey, it's life :)  
> scream at me on [tumblr](http://domokunrainbowkinz.tumblr.com/)


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